Chapter 8

Question 1

gene expression

Answer 1

process by which a gene makes a product that is useful to the cell or organism by directing the synthesis of a protein or an RNA molecule with a characteristic activity

Question 2

what technique is used to determine the total protein content of a cell

Answer 2

mass spectrometry

Question 3

specialized cells are capable of ______ their patterns of gene expression in response to extracellular cues

Answer 3

altering

Question 4

7 regulations from DNA to protein

Answer 4

1. when and how often a gene is transcribed
2. how an RNA transcript is spliced or processed
3. which mRNAs are exported from the nucleus to the cytosol
4. how quickly mRNA molecules are degraded
5. which mRNAs are translated into protein by ribosomes
6. how rapidly a protein is destroyed
7. whether a protein is activated once it has been made

Question 5

which of the following is NOT true about liver and kidney cells in the same organism?
-they contain different proteins
-they express different genes
-they contain the entire set of instructions needed to form the whole organism
-they contain different genes

Answer 5

they contain different genes

Question 6

What method would be the best for determining which genes are being transcribed in a particular cell type?

Answer 6

RNA sequencing

Question 7

regulatory DNA sequence

Answer 7

DNA sequence to which a transcription regulator binds to determine when, where, and in what quantities a gene is to transcribed into RNA

Question 8

transcription regulator

Answer 8

protein that binds specifically to a regulatory DNA sequence to switch a gene either on or off

Question 9

transcriptional repressor

Answer 9

protein that binds to a specific regulatory region of DNA to prevent transcription of an adjacent gene

Question 10

transcriptional activator

Answer 10

protein that binds to a specific regulatory region of DNA to stimulate transcription of an adjacent gene

Question 11

in eukaryotes, where do transcription regulators bind?

Answer 11

upstream, downstream, or within the genes they control

Question 12

What is an operon?

Answer 12

a set of genes transcribed as a single mRNA from a single promoter

Question 13

combinatorial control

Answer 13

describes the way in which groups of transcription regulators work together to regulate the expression of a single gene

Question 14

a single transcription regulator can initiate the formation of ____

Answer 14

a whole organ

Question 15

terminally differenetiated

Answer 15

highly specialized cells that don’t divide after they have been differentiated

Question 16

a master transcription regulator activates transcription of its own gene using a ______

Answer 16

positive feedback loop

Question 17

DNA methylation

Answer 17

enzymatic addition of methyl groups to cytosine bases in DNA
generally turns off genes by attracting proteins that block gene expression

Question 18

covalent modification of histones

Answer 18

regulate gene activity by influencing the packaging of DNA

Question 19

epigenetic inheritance

Answer 19

the transmission of a heritable pattern of gene expression from once cell to its progeny that does not involved altering the nucleotide sequence of the DNA

Question 20

Which is NOT an example of epigenetic inheritance?
-the inheritance of methylation patterns in DNA
-the inheritance of patterns of chromosome condensation
-the inheritance of a regulatory protein that activates its own transcription
-the inheritance of a single point mutation in a gene

Answer 20

the inheritance of a single point mutation in a gene

Question 21

post-transcriptional control

Answer 21

regulation of gene expression that occurs after transcription of the gene has begun
RNA splicing & translational control

Question 22

examples of regulatory RNAs

Answer 22

microRNAs
small interfering RNAs
long noncoding RNAs

Question 23

microRNA (miRNA)

Answer 23

small noncoding RNA that controls gene expression by base-pairing with a specific mRNA to regulate its stability and its translation

Question 24

RNA interference (RNAi)

Answer 24

cellular mechanism activated by double-stranded RNA molecules that results in the destruction of RNAs containing a similar nucleotide sequence

Question 25

Which does NOT affect gene expression at the post-transcriptional level?
-small interfering RNAs
-microRNAs
-nucleotide sequences in the untranslated regions of an mRNA
-DNA methylation

Answer 25

DNA methylation