gene expression 1.3 Flashcards
what is an amino acid?
one of twenty different types of organic compound which are the basic building blocks of protein
what is an antibody?
type of protein made by white blood cells to defend the body against antigens
what is chromatography?
technique used to separate components of a mixture which differ in their degree of solubility in a solvent
what is an enzyme?
type of protein possessing an active surface which combines with a specific substrate
what is gel electrophoresis?
technique used to separate electrically charged molecules by subjecting them to an electric current which forces them to move through a sheet of gel
what is a genotype?
genetic constitution of a cell or organism produced as a result of gene expression
what is a hormone?
type of protein that acts as a chemical messenger
what is a hydrogen bond?
weak chemical link holding a polypeptide chain in a coil
what is nitrogen?
chemical element present in all proteins in addition to carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
what is a peptide bond?
a strong chemical link joining adjacent amino acids in a polypeptide chain
what is a phenotype?
physical and chemical state of a cell or organism produced as a result of of gene expression
what is a polypeptide?
chain-like molecule composed of several amino acids
what is a protein?
molecule composed of one or more polypeptides folded or coiled into a specific shape
what is an anticodon?
triplet of bases on a tRNA which is complementary to a mRNA codon
what is an attachment site?
region of a tRNA molecule to which a specific amino acid becomes temporarily fixed
what is a codon?
unit of genetic information consisting of three mRNA bases
what is an exon?
the coding region of a gene
what is genetic code?
molecular language made up of 64 codewords (4 bases ‘read’ in groups of 3 or 4^3)
what is an intron?
the non-coding region of a gene
what is mRNA?
type of nucleic acid which carries a copy of the DNA code from the nucleus to a ribosome
what is the primary transcript?
mRNA strand formed as the complement of a DNA template strand
what is ribose sugar?
type of sugar present in RNA
what is RNA polymerase?
the enzyme which controls transcription
what is a ribosome?
subcellular structure made of rRNA and protein which is the site of protein synthesis
what is splicing?
the joining of exons from a primary transcript of RNA following the removal of introns
what is transcription?
process by which a complementary molecule of mRNA is made from a region of a DNA template
what is translation?
conversions of the genetic information on mRNA into a sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide
what is tRNA?
type of nucleic acid which carries a specific amino acid to a ribosome
what is uracil?
base present in RNA that is complementary to adenine (replaces thymine)
mRNA
messenger RNA
tRNA
transfer RNA
rRNA
ribosomal RNA
