Chapter One Flashcards
What is the functional product of most genes?
A polypeptide, which is a linear sequence of amino acids that folds into units that
What is a trait?
Any characteristic that an organism displays.
What do Morphological traits affect?
The appearance of an organism.
What do physiological traits affect?
The ability of an organism to function.
What does the third category of traits?
Those that affect an organisms behavior
What is trans-acting factor?
A regulatory protein that binds to a regulatory element in the DNA and exerts a trans effect
How are the chemical properties of organic molecules essential for cell vitality?
The breaking of chemical bonds during the degradation of small molecules provides energy to drive cellular process; and their roles as building blocks for the synthesis of larger molecules.
What are the 4 important categories of larger collular molecules?
Nucleic acids (i.e. DNA and RNA)
Proteins
Carbohydrates
Lipids
What form Macromolecules?
Nucleic acids, proteins, and carbohydrates
What are macromolecules composed of?
Many repeating units of smaller building blocks
What is DNA?
The largest macromolecule found in living cells
A single DNA molecule can be composed of what?
A linear sequence of hundreds of millions of nucleotides
The formation of cellular structures relies on what?
The interaction of molecules and macromolecules
DNA is associated with what?
Many proteins that provide organization to the structure of chromosomes.
Within a eukaryotic cell, the chromosomes are contained where?
In a compartment called the cell nucleus.
In Eukaryotic cells, the nucleus is bounded by what?
A double membrane composed of lipids and proteins that shields the chromosomes from the rest of the cell.
The organization of chromosomes within a cell nucleus does what?
Protects the chromosomes from mechanical damage and provides a single compartment for genetic activities such as gene transcription
The formation of large cellular structures arises from what?
Interactions among different molecules and macromolecules, and in turn, are organized to make a complex living cell.
DNA is formed how? And is associated with what?
DNA is formed from the linkage of nucleotides, to produce a very long macromolecule. The DNA associates with proteins to form a chromosome
The chromosomes are located where?
Within a membrane-bound organelle called the nucleus, which along with other organelles is found ina complete cell.
Is DNA a small molecule, a macromolecule or an organelle?
Macromolecule
The characteristics of a cell depend on what?
The types of proteins that it makes.
What is the proteome?
All of the proteins that a cell makes at a given time.
What are some functions of proteins?
Help determine the shape and structure.
Insert into cell membranes and aid in the transport of ions and small molecules across the membrane.
Tubulin is what and does what?
A protein that assembles into large structures known as microtubules, which provide the cell with internal structures and organization.
What are enzymes?
A protein that functions to accelerate chemical reactions within a cell.
Some enzymes play a role in what? What are they called?
The breakdown of molecules or macromolecules into smaller units. They are catabolic enzymes and are important in the utilization of energy.
Anabolic enzymes and accessory protein function how?
In the synthesis of molecules and macromolecules throughout the cell.
What does DNA stand for?
Deoxyribonucleic Acid
The DNA does what?
Stores the information needed for the synthesis of all celllar proteins. It codes for the production of proteins in the correct cell at the proper time and in suitable amounts.
DNA’s ability to store information is based on what?
Its structure
DNA is composed of what?
A linear sequence of nucleotides
What are nucleotides?
The repeating structural unit of nucleic acids, composed of sugar, phosphate and a base.
Each nucleotide contains one of what four nitrogen-containing bases?
Adenine (A)
Thymine (T)
Guanine (G)
Cytosine (C)
DNA sequences within genes contain information to do what?
Direct the order of amino acids within polypeptides according to the genetic code.
In the genetic code, a three-base sequence specifies what?
One particular amino acid among 20 possible choices.
One or more polypeptides form what?
A functional protein.
What amino acid sequence correlates with this DNA sequence:
ATG GGC CTT AGC
Methionine
Glycine
Leucine
Serine
What amino acid sequence correlates with this DNA sequence:
TTT AAG CTT GCC
Phenylalanine
Lysine
Leucine
Alamine
DNA is found within what?
Large structures known as chromosomes
What are chromosomes?
The structures within living cells that contain the genetic material. Genes are physically located within the structure of chromosomes. Biochemically, chromosomes contain a very long segment of DNA, which is the genetic material, and proteins which are bound to the DNA and provide it with an organized structure.
An average sized human is expected to contain how many different genes?
1000
Which types of macromolecules are found in chromosomes?
DNA
Proteins
Small amounts of RNA when transcription is occurring.
What is gene expression?
The process of using a gene sequence to affect the characteristics of cells and organisms.
What is transcription?
The DNA sequence within a gene is copied into a nucleotide sequence of RNA
What does RNA stand for?
Ribonucleic Acid
What’s another name for Protien-Encoding genes?
Structural genes
What do protein-encoding genes do?
Carry the information for the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide
What is the 1st product when a protein-encoding gene is transcribed?
A RNA molecule known as a messenger RNA (mRNA)
The sequence of nucleotides within the mRNA determines what?
The sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide.
One or more polypeptides then forld to form and assemble what?
A functional protein