DNA & Meiosis Flashcards
What three components make up a nucleotide?
- deoxyribose (sugar)
- a phosphate
- a base (either single ringed: C & T, or double ringed: A & G)
Why type of reaction forms a nucleotide?
Condensation
What are the pairs of bases?
Adenine two H+ bonds Thymine
Guanine three H+ bonds Cytosine
Why are the quantities of A&T and G&C always the same?
Because they are bonded in complementary pairs
What other element is in the base group of a nucleotide?
Nitrogen
What are the uprights & rungs of the DNA ladder made from?
Rungs = pairs of bases Uprights = deoxyribose-phosphate molecules
How are polynucleotides formed?
- condensation reaction between deoxyribose sugar & phosphate between two different nucleotides
- water lost = phosphodiester bond formed
What is the name of the structure of DNA?
Double-helix structure
How do different DNA molecules differ from one another if there is always a deoxyribose sugar, phosphate & the 4 bases in each one?
Different proportions of bases ( ratio between pairs varies from species to species)
Different sequence of bases
How is the DNA molecule adapted to carry out its functions?
- stable: pass through generations without change
- two polynucleotide chains are joined by H+ bonds = separate in DNA replication
- large molecule = carries a lot of genetic info
- base pairs protected within helical structure from outside chemicals
How many bases make up an amino acid?
Three base pairs - triplet code
How are different amino acids made?
Different combination & sequence of bases
What is a gene?
Genes are sections of DNA and are found on chromosomes. They code for proteins (polypeptides) as the contain the instructions (specific base sequences) to make them
What is an intron and exon?
Intron: Section of non-coding DNA that can occur within genes as multiple repeats, are removed in protein synthesis
Exon: opposite
Give three features of the triplet code
- the code is non-overlapping
- it’s a Degenerate Code, because most amino acids have more than one triplet code
- three triplet codes don’t code for any amino acid: Stop Codes mark the end of a polypeptide chain
Besides introns what is another region in genes that don’t code for amino acids?
Multiple repeat regions (DNA sequences that repeat over and over)