DNA Flashcards
Double Helix
a pair of parallel helices intertwined about a common axis, especially that in the structure of the DNA molecule.
Nucleotide
a compound consisting of a nucleoside linked to a phosphate group. Nucleotides form the basic structural unit of nucleic acids such as DNA.
Deoxyribose
a sugar derived from ribose by replacing a hydroxyl group with hydrogen.
Base-pairing Rules
constraints imposed by the molecular structure of DNA and RNA on the formation of hydrogen bonds among the four purine and pyrimidine bases such that adenine pairs with thymine or uracil, and guanine pairs with cytosine
DNA Replication
DNA replication is the biological process of producing two identical replicas of DNA from one original DNA molecule.
Replication Fork
is a structure that forms within the long helical DNA during DNA replication.
DNA polymerase
Any of various enzymes that function in the replication and repair of DNA by catalyzing the linking of nucleotides
RNA
Its principal role is to act as a messenger carrying instructions from DNA for controlling the synthesis of proteins, although in some viruses RNA rather than DNA carries the genetic information.
Transcription
Transcription is the first of several steps of DNA based gene expression in which a particular segment of DNA is copied into RNA (especially mRNA) by the enzyme RNA polymerase.
Translation
In molecular biology and genetics, translation is the process in which ribosomes in the cytoplasm or endoplasmic reticulum synthesize proteins after the process transcription of DNA to RNA in the cell’s nucleus.
Messenger RNA
is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene and is read by a ribosome in the process of synthesizing a protein.
Transfer RNA
Transfer RNA refers to as “Soluble RNA” because it is soluble in the solution of a 1M concentration of NaCl.
Gene Expression
Gene expression is the process by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product.
