Chapter 6: DNA Structure and Replication Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

What does DNA stand for?

A

Deoxyribonucleic Acid

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is DNA?

A

An information molecule that is the universal basis of an organism’s genetic material; it contains instructions, written in a chemical code, for the production of proteins by the cell

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What are genes?

A

A unit of heredity that transmits information from one generation to the next; a segment of DNA that codes for a polypeptide

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Where is DNA located in a eukaryotic cell?

A

In the nucleus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is chromatin?

A

A complex of proteins and DNA in eukaryotic chromosomes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What are chromosomes?

A

A structure composed of DNA and protein that contains along its length linear arrays of genes carrying genetic information; prokaryotes have one circular chromosome whereas eukaryotes have a number of linear chromosomes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is histone?

A

A protein that DNA winds around in eukaryotic cells

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What are sister chromatids?

A

The two identical copies of a single chromosome, formed by replication and connected by a centromere

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is centromere?

A

The waist-like constriction in a chromosome required for the movement of chromosomes during cell division. Refer to figure 6.1.4 pg 128 for more detail

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What are homologous chromosomes?

A

A pair of chromosomes that have the same size, shape, and genes at the same locations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What is a karyotype?

A

A display of the number and appearance of the chromosomes of an organism or cell observed at metaphase

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

How many pairs of chromosomes do humans have?

A

23 (46 chromosomes)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What chromosomes are not homologous?

A

Sex chromosomes (usually male) are not homologous

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is the endosymbiotic theory?

A

A theory that suggests that chloroplasts and mitochondria arose from ancient prokaryote cells that were ingested by other prokaryote host cells

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Where is DNA located in prokaryote cells?

A

They form a single circular chromosome that lies in direct contact with the cytoplasm

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is a nucleoid?

A

The region within a prokaryotic cell that contains the genetic material

17
Q

What are plasmids?

A

A small circular piece of DNA found in bacteria, which can replicate independently of the cell’s chromosomes; plasmids carry antibiotic resistance markers

18
Q

What is a nucleotide?

A

The basic building block of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) linked together by phosphodiester bonds; each nucleotide is made up of a five-carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base

19
Q

What are the three distinct chemical components of a nucleotide?

A

A five-carbon sugar (deoxyribose in DNA), a negatively charged phosphate group, and an organic nitrogen-containing compound called a base. Refer to figure 6.2.4 pg 133 for more detail

20
Q

What are the four kinds of nitrogenous bases in DNA?

A

Adenine (A), thymine(T), Guanine (G), and cytosine (C)

21
Q

What are complementary bases?

A

Nitrogenous bases on nucleotides that bind to each other (e.g. A-T and C-G)

22
Q

What does RNA stand for?

A

Ribonucleic Adic

23
Q

What is RNA?

A

A molecule consisting of a single strand of nucleotides; plays an essential role in protein synthesis (as messenger RNA and transfer RNA) and as a structural component of ribosomes

24
Q

What are the three major differences between DNA and RNA?

A

Composed of a single chain of nucleotides, the base thymine is replaced by the base uracil (U) and ribose sugar replaces the deoxyribose of DNA

25
Q

What is a daughter cell?

A

Either of the two cells formed when a cell undergoes cell division

26
Q

What are the periods involved in the interphase?

A

Active growth (G1 phase), synthesis of DNA (S phase), and preparation for the next division (G2 phase)

27
Q

What is the stage between nuclear divisions called?

A

Interphase

28
Q

What is DNA helicase?

A

An enzyme that helps the two strands of the DNA double helix unwind and separate - begins DNA replication

29
Q

What is the replication fork?

A

The junction between the unwound single strands of DNA and the intact double helix during replication

30
Q

What is DNA polymerase?

A

An enzyme capable of making exact copies of fragments of DNA

31
Q

What is semiconservative replication?

A

The production of two new DNA double helix molecules, each consisting of one parental strand and one daughter strand