DNA, RNA, and Protein Synthesis Flashcards
What makes up DNA?
deoxynucleotides = purine or pyrimidine base + deoxyribose (pentose) sugar + phosphate group
Which bases are purines?
Adenine (A) and Guanine (G)
Which bases are pyrimidines?
Thymine (T) and Cytosine (C)
What is the difference between purines and pyrimidines?
Purines = double ring Pyrimidines = single ring
What is a nucleoSIDE?
A nucleotide without the phosphate group (wihch can be mono, di, or tri)
Purine or pyrimidine base + deoxyribose (pentose) sugar
What is the polarity of polynucleotide strands?
5’ to 3’
What is it called when the two strands of DNA run in opposite directions?
Anti-parallel
Name all the bases in deoxynucleotide form.
Deoxyadenosine
Deoxyguanosine
What is the start codon?
AUG (coding for Methionine, Met)
What are the 3 stop codons?
UAA, UAG, UGA
What is specificity of the genetic code referring to?
The code is unambiguous: a particular codon always codes for the same amino acid (this does not change).
What is meant by universality?
The genetic code is virtually universal; specificity has been conserved from early stages of evolution w/ only slight differences in manner in which the code is translated (exception: mitochondria).
What is meant by degeneracy?
The genetic code is redundant: a given amino acid may have more than one codon coding for it, even though each codon corresponds to only one AA.
What is a point mutation?
Changing a single nt base on the mRNA chain.
What is a silent mutation?
Codon w/ the changed base ends up coding for the same AA.
What is a missense mutation?
Codon w/ changed base codes for a different AA.
What is a nonsense mutation?
Codon w/ changed base becomes a termination codon.
What is trinucleotide repeat expansion?
A mutation in which a sequence of 3 bases repeated in tandem becomes amplified, resulting in too many copies of the triplet.
What is Huntington disease caused by?
Trinucleotide repeat expansion (TRE): amplification of CAG codon leads ot insertion of many extra glutamine residues which change secondary structure causing accumulation of protein aggregates.
What is happening in both fragile X syndrome and myotonic dystrophy?
TRE occurs in an untranslated region of a gene, resulting in decrease in amount of protein produced.
Fragile X amplifies CGG, myotonic dystrophy amplifies CUG.
What is a splice site mutation?
mutations at splice sites that alter how introns are removed from pre-mRNA molecules, producing aberrant proteins.
What is a frame-shift mutation?
When one or two nt are either deleted from or added to coding region of mRNA and the reading frame is altered.
Results in product w/ radicaly different AA sequence or truncated product.
What occurs in cystic fibrosis (CF)?
Deletion of 3 nt from the coding region of a gene, resulting in the loss of phenylalanine at the 508th position in the protein encoded by that gene. Prevents normal folding of protein, which leads to destruction by the proteasome.
Presents as production of secretions in lungs and pancreas, leading to lung damage and digestive problems.
What is needed for protein translation?
- All AAs in finished product,
- mRNA to be translated
- tRNA for each amino acid
- functional ribosomes
- energy sources
- enzymes
- noncatalytic protein factors needed for initiation, elongation, and termination steps
What is an amino acid attachment site?
Each tRNA has attachment site for specific AA at its 3’ end b/c carboxyl group of AA ester links w/ 3’-hydroxyl of ribose portion of adenine (A) nucleotide in the –CCA (unpaired base tail) sequence at the 3’ end of the tRNA.
What is a tRNA called when it is covalently attached to an amino acid? What is the AA called in this situation?
Charged; activated.
What is the anticodon?
The 3 base nt sequence that pairs w/ the specific codon on the mRNA
Specifies insertion into growing peptide chain of the AA carried by that tRNA.