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chapter 15 Flashcards

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1
Q

Who isolated DNA for the first time and in what year?

A

Friedrich Miescher in 1869

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2
Q

What term did Miescher coin to describe the substance he found in DNA?

A

Nucleic acid

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3
Q

What are the two natural forms of nucleic acids?

A
  • Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
  • Ribonucleic acid (RNA)
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4
Q

What role does DNA play in cells?

A

Governs the processes of heredity

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5
Q

What is the role of RNA in cells?

A

Plays a role in gene expression and protein synthesis

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6
Q

What phenomenon did Frederick Griffith discover in his 1928 experiment?

A

The transforming principle

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7
Q

What did Griffith use to demonstrate the transforming principle?

A

Heat-killed pathogenic bacteria and live non-pathogenic bacteria

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8
Q

What happened when Griffith treated heat-killed bacteria with a protein-destroying enzyme?

A

Transformation still occurred

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9
Q

What happened when Griffith treated heat-killed bacteria with a DNA-destroying enzyme?

A

Transformation did not occur

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10
Q

What did Hershey and Chase demonstrate in 1952?

A

DNA, not proteins, carries genetic information

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11
Q

What method did Hershey and Chase use to label the components of the virus?

A

Radioactive labeling

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12
Q

What is a nucleotide?

A

The basic building block of nucleic acids

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13
Q

What components make up a nucleotide?

A
  • A sugar molecule (ribose in RNA or deoxyribose in DNA)
  • A phosphate group
  • A nitrogen-containing base
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14
Q

What are the nitrogenous bases found in DNA?

A
  • Adenine (A)
  • Cytosine (C)
  • Guanine (G)
  • Thymine (T)
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15
Q

What base does RNA have instead of thymine?

A

Uracil (U)

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16
Q

What did Chargaff discover about nucleotide proportions in DNA?

A

Adenine equals thymine and cytosine equals guanine

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17
Q

Who used X-ray photography to analyze the structure of DNA?

A

Rosalind Franklin

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18
Q

What is the structure of DNA as described by Watson and Crick?

A

A double helix

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19
Q

What are complementary base pairs in DNA?

A
  • Adenine (A) pairs with Thymine (T)
  • Cytosine (C) pairs with Guanine (G)
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20
Q

What are the two types of nucleic acids discussed?

A
  • DNA
  • RNA
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21
Q

What is the defining feature of RNA compared to DNA?

A

RNA is single-stranded

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22
Q

What is the definition of a gene?

A

A functional sub-unit of DNA that directs the production of one or more polypeptides

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23
Q

What constitutes the genome of an organism?

A

The sum of all the DNA, including genes and non-coding DNA

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24
Q

What is DNA replication?

A

The process of creating an exact copy of a molecule of DNA

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25
Q

What is the error rate of DNA replication in human cells?

A

About one per billion nucleotide pairs

26
Q

What are the three main steps of DNA replication?

A
  • Initiation
  • Elongation
  • Termination
27
Q

What enzyme is responsible for unzipping the DNA molecule during replication?

A

Helicase

28
Q

What is the role of DNA polymerase?

A

Adds nucleotides during DNA replication

29
Q

What are Okazaki fragments?

A

Short stretches of DNA synthesized on the lagging strand

30
Q

What is the role of RNA primers in DNA replication?

A

Serve as starting points for DNA synthesis

31
Q

What is the process of DNA sequencing?

A

Identifying the precise nucleotide sequence of a DNA fragment

32
Q

What was the first entire genome to be sequenced?

A

The genome of the virus θX174 in 1977

33
Q

What is transcription?

A

The process by which DNA is copied into mRNA

34
Q

What enzyme catalyzes the synthesis of RNA during transcription?

A

RNA polymerase

35
Q

What is the role of mRNA in protein synthesis?

A

Carries the information needed for protein synthesis from the nucleus to the cytoplasm

36
Q

What is the process by which mRNA directs the synthesis of a protein?

A

Translation

37
Q

What base in RNA replaces thymine found in DNA?

A

Uracil

In RNA, thymine is replaced by uracil.

38
Q

In which direction do RNA polymerases transcribe DNA?

A

5’ to 3’ direction

RNA polymerases transcribe only one strand of the template DNA.

39
Q

What are Okazaki fragments and are they needed in RNA transcription?

A

No need for Okazaki fragments

Okazaki fragments are associated with DNA replication, not transcription.

40
Q

What signals the RNA polymerases to detach from the DNA during transcription?

A

A specific nucleotide sequence in the template DNA

This sequence serves as a signal to stop transcription.

41
Q

Where is mRNA transported after transcription?

A

Into the cytoplasm, to the ribosome

mRNA is formed during transcription and then transported for translation.

42
Q

What molecule links each mRNA codon to its specific amino acid?

A

Transfer RNA (tRNA)

tRNA recognizes and binds to the corresponding codon in the ribosome.

43
Q

What is a codon?

A

A three-base stretch of mRNA

One codon contains the information for a specific amino acid.

44
Q

How does the genetic code exhibit redundancy?

A

More than one codon can code for the same amino acid

This means that multiple codons can produce the same amino acid.

45
Q

What does it mean for the genetic code to be continuous?

A

It reads as a series of three-letter codons without spaces, punctuation, or overlap

Knowing where to start and stop translation is essential.

46
Q

Is the genetic code nearly universal?

A

True

Almost all living organisms build proteins with the same genetic code.

47
Q

What is a mutation?

A

A permanent change in the genetic material of an organism

Mutations can be spontaneous or induced.

48
Q

What type of mutations affect the genetic information in an organism’s gametes?

A

Germ line mutations

These mutations can be passed on to offspring.

49
Q

What are somatic cell mutations?

A

Mutations that occur in body cells

These mutations are not passed on to offspring.

50
Q

What is a point mutation?

A

A chemical change that affects just one or a few nucleotides

It may involve substitution, insertion, or deletion of nucleotides.

51
Q

What is a silent mutation?

A

A mutation that has no effect on the cell’s metabolism

It does not alter the polypeptide produced.

52
Q

What is a mis-sense mutation?

A

A mutation that results in an altered protein

It can be harmful, such as in sickle cell disease.

53
Q

What is a nonsense mutation?

A

A mutation that renders the gene unable to code for a functional polypeptide

This type of mutation can lead to premature termination of protein synthesis.

54
Q

What is a frameshift mutation?

A

A mutation caused by insertion or deletion of nucleotides

It alters the entire reading frame of the gene.

55
Q

What are mutagens?

A

Substances or events that increase the rate of mutation

Mutagens can be physical (e.g., x-rays) or chemical (e.g., carcinogens).

56
Q

What is genetic engineering?

A

The manipulation of genetic material to alter genes

It blends plant, animal, and bacterial DNA.

57
Q

What is recombinant DNA?

A

A molecule of DNA that includes genetic material from different sources

It is used in genetic engineering.

58
Q

What are restriction enzymes?

A

Proteins produced by bacteria that cleave DNA at specific sites

They are essential tools in recombinant DNA technology.

59
Q

What is the purpose of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)?

A

To amplify DNA sequences

PCR can generate billions of copies of a specific region of DNA.

60
Q

How does gel electrophoresis work?

A

Separates mixtures of DNA, RNA, or proteins according to molecular size

Molecules travel through a gel under an electrical field.

DNA (1 decks)

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