genetic information (DNA) Flashcards

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1
Q

how does DNA exist in eukaryotic cells?

A

as chromosomes

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2
Q

what is a chromosome?

A

thread like structure, made up of a long molecule of DNA

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3
Q

how is eukaryotic DNA condensed to fit into the cell?

A

wound around proteins called histones, which support the DNA

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4
Q

which organelles have their own DNA?

A

mitochondria and chloroplasts

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5
Q

what is the DNA in mitochondria and chloroplasts similar to?

A

prokaryotic cells

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6
Q

how does prokaryotic DNA condense to fit into the cell?

A

by supercoiling

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7
Q

how is DNA different in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?

A

prokaryotic DNA not bound to a protein
prokaryotic DNA circular not linear
prokaryotic DNA doesn’t have introns
prokaryotic DNA is smaller

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8
Q

what is a gene?

A

sequence of DNA bases that codes for a polypeptide or RNA

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9
Q

what does the sequence of amino acids form?

A

the primary structure of a protein

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10
Q

what is an amino acid coded for by?

A

sequence of 3 bases = triplet

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11
Q

what is genome?

A

complete set of genes in a cell

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12
Q

what is a proteome?

A

range of proteins that a cell can produce

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13
Q

what is an intron?

A

non coding section of DNA

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14
Q

what is an exon?

A

coding section of DNA

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15
Q

why are introns removed in protein synthesis?

A

so they don’t affect the amino acid order

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16
Q

what is an allele?

A

alternative form of a gene

17
Q

how many pairs of chromosomes do humans have?

A

23

18
Q

what is a homologous pair?

A

pair of matching chromosomes

19
Q

what is a locus?

A

specific location on a chromosome

20
Q

what is the genetic code?

A

sequence of base triplets in mRNA which codes for a specific amino acid

21
Q

what does it mean if the genetic code is non overlapping?

A

triplets don’t share their bases- each triplet is read separately

22
Q

what does it mean if the genetic code is degenerate?

A

there are more possible combinations of triplets than amino acids- some amino acids are coded for by more than one base triplet

23
Q

what does it mean if the genetic code is universal?

A

the same base triplets code for the same amino acids in all living things

24
Q

what do start/stop codons do?

A

tell the cell when to start and stop protein production, found at the beginning and end of mRNA