Chapter 3 Flashcards

1
Q

What is one major structural difference between RNA and DNA?

A

2’ hydroxyl on sugar

This refers to the presence of a hydroxyl group (-OH) on the 2’ carbon of the ribose sugar in RNA, which is absent in DNA.

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2
Q

Which base is found in RNA instead of Thymine?

A

Uracil

Uracil (U) replaces Thymine (T) in RNA.

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3
Q

What is the typical structural form of RNA?

A

Single stranded

RNA is generally single-stranded, whereas DNA is typically double-stranded.

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4
Q

What are the eight major types of RNA?

A
  • Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
  • Messenger RNA (mRNA)
  • Transfer RNA (tRNA)
  • Small nuclear RNA (snRNA)
  • Small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA)
  • MicroRNA (miRNA)
  • PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs)
  • Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA)

These different types of RNA play various roles within the cell.

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5
Q

What are two key points for understanding RNA function?

A
  • RNA can form complementary base pairs with other nucleic acids.
  • RNA can interact with proteins: Ribonucleoprotein (RNP) particles.

These interactions are crucial for many cellular processes.

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6
Q

How can RNA serve as a scaffold?

A

RNA can serve as a scaffold upon which proteins can be assembled.

An example includes the signal recognition particle.

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7
Q

Can RNA be catalytic?

A

Yes, RNA can be catalytic - ribozyme.

Ribozymes are RNA molecules that can catalyze chemical reactions.

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8
Q

What constitutes the primary structure of RNA?

A

A chain-like molecule composed of subunits called nucleotides joined by phosphodiester bonds.

Each nucleotide consists of a ribose sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.

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9
Q

What are the common bases found in RNA?

A
  • Adenine (A)
  • Guanine (G)
  • Cytosine (C)
  • Uracil (U)

These bases are fundamental to RNA structure and function.

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10
Q

What is the secondary structure of RNA characterized by?

A

The folding of an RNA chain into a variety of structural motifs.

This includes structures like bulges, base-paired helices, and hairpin loops.

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11
Q

What type of double helix does base-paired RNA adopt?

A

A-type double helix

The presence of the 2’-OH group in RNA hinders the formation of a B-type helix.

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12
Q

What are noncanonical base pairs?

A

Base pairs that differ from Watson-Crick pairing.

They can widen the major groove and enhance accessibility to ligands or proteins.

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13
Q

What role do noncanonical base pairs play in RNA?

A
  • RNA self-assembly
  • RNA-protein interactions
  • RNA-ligand interactions

These interactions are essential for the proper functioning of RNA.

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14
Q

True or False: Chemical modification of RNA bases does not affect their hydrogen bonding characteristics.

A

False

Chemical modifications can change how RNA bases interact with each other.

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15
Q

Fill in the blank: ‘tRNA looks like Nature’s attempt to make RNA do the job of a ______.’

A

protein

This quote by Francis Crick highlights the functional similarities between tRNA and proteins.

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16
Q

What is the role of Transfer RNA (tRNA) during translation?

A

tRNA is a critical link between codons carried on mRNA and the amino acid carried by the tRNA.

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17
Q

What are the two main structural forms of tRNA?

A

Cloverleaf secondary structure and L-shaped tertiary structure.

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18
Q

What is the function of the anticodon loop in tRNA?

A

It directs binding of the tRNA to the codon through base pairing.

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19
Q

Name three general principles of tRNA structure.

A
  • Modified bases
  • tRNA loops each have a separate function
  • Coaxial stacking of stems
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20
Q

What is the significance of modified bases in RNA?

A

More than 100 modified bases exist in RNA, affecting hydrogen bonding characteristics.

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21
Q

Which modified nucleoside was the first to be identified in tRNA?

A

Inosine (I).

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22
Q

What is the function of the T-loop in tRNA?

A

Recognition by the ribosome.

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23
Q

What is the function of the D loop in tRNA?

A

Recognition by the aminoacyl tRNA synthetases.

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24
Q

What role does the anticodon loop play in tRNA function?

A

It base pairs with the mRNA codon.

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25
Q

How do base-paired stems in tRNA contribute to its structure?

A

They are involved in long-range interactions with other stems.

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26
Q

What is the A-type helical arm formed by in tRNA?

A

The 7 bp acceptor stem stacks on the 5 bp T stem.

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27
Q

What are common tertiary structure motifs in RNA?

A
  • Pseudoknots
  • A-minor motifs
  • Tetraloops
  • Ribose zippers
  • Kink-turns
28
Q

What is the significance of RNA folding?

A

RNA folding is based on hydrogen bonding and base stacking.

29
Q

True or False: RNA can develop several unique structures like DNA.

30
Q

What stabilizes the tetraloop motif?

A

Base-stacking interactions.

31
Q

What is the ribose zipper motif’s function?

A

It stabilizes helix-helix interactions in minor grooves.

32
Q

Describe the kink-turn motif in RNA.

A

Asymmetric internal loops embedded in an RNA double helix causing a sharp bend.

33
Q

What are the three structural levels of RNA?

A
  • Primary: Nucleotides
  • Secondary: Stem, loop, bulge, and junction
  • Tertiary: Coaxial stacking, pseudoknots, A-minor motifs, tetraloops, ribose zippers, kink-turns
34
Q

What is the ‘RNA folding problem’?

A

Large RNAs can adopt many possible structures and may misfold into nonfunctional structures.

35
Q

What controls the kinetics of RNA folding?

A
  • Specific binding proteins
  • Chaperones
36
Q

What types of proteins assist RNA in achieving its final shape?

A
  • Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins for mRNA
  • Ribosomal proteins for rRNA
37
Q

What are RNA chaperones responsible for?

A

Preventing the formation of misfolded structures or unfolding misfolded RNA.

38
Q

What is the role of specific RNA-binding proteins?

A

Stabilize the native structure of RNA.

39
Q

What is the time frame for tRNA to achieve secondary structure?

A

Within 10^-4 to 10^-5 seconds.

40
Q

What is the time frame for tRNA to achieve tertiary structure?

A

Within 10^-2 to 10^-1 seconds.

41
Q

How can RNA folding be analyzed?

A

By hydroxyl radical footprinting assay.

42
Q

What is the time required for the catalytic center of large catalytic RNA to complete folding?

A

Several minutes.

43
Q

What are some uses for RNA in a cell?

A
  • Some RNAs have catalytic activity.
  • Some do not require proteins to be present.
  • Some require proteins to create additional structures or contacts for binding a substrate.
44
Q

What technique did Thomas Cech use to study intron splicing in Tetrahymena thermophila?

A

The ‘R looping’ technique.

45
Q

What is an intervening sequence (IVS) or ‘intron’?

A

A sequence that is spliced out in the final 26S rRNA product.

46
Q

What conclusion was drawn from the in vitro assay of Tetrahymena self-splicing RNA?

A

The RNA was splicing itself.

47
Q

What is the classic definition of an enzyme?

A

A substance that increases the rate, or velocity, of a chemical reaction without itself being changed in the overall process.

48
Q

What term was coined for naturally occurring RNA enzymes that are self-splicing?

49
Q

What did Sidney Altman and coworkers show in 1983?

A

Bacterial RNase P is an RNA enzyme that cleaves 5’ leader sequences off of tRNA.

50
Q

What is RNase P classified as?

A

A Ribozyme.

51
Q

How many protein subunits does human H1 RNA associate with?

A

At least 10 protein subunits.

52
Q

What does eukaryotic RNase P act as?

A

A catalytic ribonucleoprotein (RNP).

53
Q

What do ribozymes catalyze?

A

A variety of chemical reactions.

54
Q

What are the two different groups of ribozymes based on size and reaction mechanism?

A
  • Large ribozymes
  • Small ribozymes
55
Q

Name two examples of large ribozymes.

A
  • RNase P
  • Group I Intron
56
Q

What are some examples of small ribozymes?

A
  • Hammerhead
  • Hairpin
  • Hepatitis delta virus RNA
  • Riboswitch
57
Q

What is the average size of RNA-based genomes?

A

Approximately 10,000 nucleotides.

58
Q

How does the mutation rate of RNA-based genomes compare to DNA-based genomes?

A

1000-fold higher.

59
Q

What is the fitness trade-off in RNA viruses?

A

Between replication rate and replication fidelity.

60
Q

What are the three main categories of eukaryotic RNA viruses?

A
  • Plus-strand viruses
  • Minus-strand viruses
  • Double-stranded RNA viruses
61
Q

What is a prominent human pathogen among retroviruses?

A

Human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1).

62
Q

What are viroids?

A

Plant pathogens whose RNA is the infectious agent and do not encode any protein.

63
Q

What is the size of a viroid genome?

A

A single, very small (250 to 400 nt), circular molecule of RNA.

64
Q

What do satellite RNAs require for replication?

A

A helper virus to provide RNA-dependent RNA polymerase.

65
Q

What is the definition of virusoids?

A

Circular, single-stranded RNA genomes that do not encode any protein.

66
Q

What is a hypothetical stage in the evolution of life involving RNA?

A

When RNA both carried the genetic information and catalyzed its own replication.

67
Q

What processes do proteins and ribonucleoprotein (RNP) particles catalyze today?

A
  • Replication of DNA
  • Transcription of DNA into RNA
  • Reverse transcription of RNA into DNA
  • Translation of mRNA mediated by the ribosome