Chapter 3 Flashcards
What are the 2 major biological functions of DNA?
- stores genetic information that is encoded in the sequence of subunits along its length
- transmits genetic information in other molecules and from one generation to the next
What does some of the information in DNA encode?
proteins that provide structure and do much of the work of the cell
What form is genetic information in DNA organized in?
genes
How do genes exist?
in different forms in different individuals, even with a single species
What is gene expression?
turning on of a gene
What is gene regulation?
the molecular process that control whether gene expression occurs at a given time, in a given cell, or at what level
3.1
What are nucleotides composed of?
5-carbon sugar
base
phosphate group(s)
3.1
What are the nucleotide components’ roles in DNA structure?
- 5-carbon sugar and phosphate groups form the backbone of the molecule, with each sugar being linked to the phosphate group of the neighbouring nucleotide
- bases sticking out from the sugar give each nucleotide its chemical identity
3.1
What makes DNA a mild acid?
phosphate group attached to 5’ carbon has negative charges on two of its oxygen atoms because at cellular pH, the free hydroxyl groups attached to the phosphorous atom are ionized by the loss of a proton and therefore are negatively charged
3.1
Where is each base located?
attached to 1’ carbon of the sugar and projects above the sugar ring
3.1
What are nucleosides?
combination of sugar and a base
3.1
What is a nucleotide?
a nucleoside with one or more phosphate groups
3.1
What is a nucleotide with one, two, or three phosphate groups called?
nucleoside monophosphate, diphosphate, triphosphate
3.1
What is nucleoside triphosphate?
- molecules that are used to form DNA and RNA
- carriers of chemical energy in the form of ATP and GTP
3.1
What is a phosphodiester bond?
covalent bond that connects 3’ carbon of one nucleotide to 5’ carbon of the next nucleotide in line through the 5’ phosphate group
3.1
Describe the phosphodiester bond.
in DNA, it is a relatively stable bond that can withstand stresses such as heat and substantial changes in pH that would break weaker bonds
- succession of phosphidester bonds traces the backbone of the DNA strand
3.1
What gives DNA strand polarity?
phosphodiester linkages
3.1
What does polarity in a DNA strand mean?
one end differs from the other - 5’ end (phosphate) and 3’ end (hydroxyl)
3.1
Describe the Watson-Crick structure of DNA.
- space-filling model in which each atom is represented as a colour-coded sphere
- two DNA strands, each wrapped around the other in the form of a helix coiling to the right, with the sugar-phosphate backbones winding around the outside of the molecule and bases pointing inward
3.1
How many base pairs are there per DNA turn?
10 base pairs per complete turn
3.1
What are major and minor grooves?
outside contours of the twisted strands form an uneven pair of grooves
3.1
Why are major and minor grooves important?
because proteins that interact with DNA often recognize a particular sequence of bases by making contact with the bases by the major or minor groove or both
3.1
Describe the ribbon model of DNA.
- sugar-phosphate backbones wind around the outside with the bases paired between the strands
- closely resembles a spiral staircase, with the backbones forming the bannisters and the base pairs the steps
3.1
What is Chargaff’s rule?
- AT and GC base pairing maintains the structure of the double helix
- pairing one purine and on pyrimidine preserves the distance between the backbones along the length of the entire molecule
- pairing two purines would cause the backbone to bulge and pairing two pyrimidines would cause them to narrow, putting excessive strain on the covalent bonds in the sugar-phosphate backbone
3.1
Why is it that A pairs only with T, and G only with C?
- AT forms two hydrogen bonds
- GC forms three hydrogen bonds
3.1
When is a hydrogen bond formed in DNA?
when an electronegative atom (O or N) in one base shares a hydrogen atom with another electronegative atom in the base across the way
3.1
Describe hydrogen bonds in DNA.
- relatively weak, 5-10% of the strength of covalent bonds
- can be disrupted by high pH or heat
- added together, millions of these weak bonds along the molecule contribute to the stability of the DNA double helix
3.1
What is base stacking?
interactions between bases in the same strand
stabilizing force that occurs because the nonpolar, flat surfaces of the bases tend to group together away from water molecules and stack on top of one another as tightly as possible
3.1
What contributes to the stability of the double helix?
- hydrogen bonds
- base stacking
3.2
What does the structure of DNA suggest about its function?
how genetic info is stored in DNA - in the linear order or sequence of the base pairs
3.2
How can DNA carry the genetic info for so many different organisms?
number of possible base sequences of a DNA molecule only 133 nucleotides in length is equal to the estimated number of electrons, protons, and neutrons in the entire universe
3.2
Why can DNA serve as the genetic material?
it is unique among cellular molecules in being able to specify exact copies of itself, a process known as replication
3.2
How does DNA replication occur?
- two parental strands of double helix unwind and separate into two single daughter strands
- each of the parent strands serves as a template for the synthesis of a complimentary daughter strand
- when process is complete, there are two molecules each containing one parental strand and one daughter strand, and each of which is identical in sequence to the original molecule, except possibly for rare errors that cause one base pair to be replaced with another
3.2
Why is reproducing the sequence of nucleotides as precisely as possible important?
mistakes that go unrepaired may be harmful to the cell or organism
3.2
What is a mutation?
a change in genetic info in DNA as a result from an unrepaired error in DNA replication
3.2
How does DNA specify the amino acid sequence of proteins?
DNA acts through an intermediary molecules known as RNA
3.2
What is the central dogma of molecular biology?
the usual flow of genetic info in a cell is from DNA to RNA to protein
3.2
What is the first step in decoding DNA?
transcription
3.2
What is transcription?
FIRST STEP OF GENE EXPRESSION
genetic info in a molecule of DNA is used as a template to generate a molecule of RNA
- base pairing between a strand of DNA and RNA means that the information in DNA is transferred to RNA
3.2
What is gene expression?
production of a functional gene product
3.2
What is translation?
SECOND STEP OF GENE EXPRESSION
molecule of RNA is used as a code for the sequence of amino acids in a protein
3.2
Where does transcription and translation occur in prokaryotes?
in the cytoplasm
3.2
Where does transcription and translation occur in eukaryotes?
transcription: nucleus
translation: cytoplasm
separation of the processes in time and space allows for additional levels of gene regulation that are not possible in prokaryotes
3.3
What is RNA?
a polymer of nucleotides linked by phosphodiester bonds, in which the 5-carbon sugar is ribose
3.3
What is the polarity of RNA?
one end carries 3’ hydroxyl group, one end carries 5’ phosphate group
3.3
What are hydroxyls?
reactive functional groups, so the additional hydroxyl group on ribose in part explains why RNA is a less stable molecule than DNA
3.3
What are the differences between DNA and RNA?
- sugar in RNA is ribose which carries a hydroxyl group on the 2’ carbon, DNA is deoxyribose
- base uracil (U) replaced thymine (T) in DNA
- 5’ end of RNA is triphosphate, DNA is monophosphate
- RNA is shorter
- RNA is single-stranded
3.3
Describe the process of transcription.
as a region of DNA duplex unwinds, one strand is used as a template for synthesis of an RNA transcript that is complementary in sequence to the template according to the base-pairing rules, except that RNA transcript contains U instead of T