Genome Anatomy Flashcards
what is genome anatomy?
genome anatomy is how the genome is organised and how it functions
how is almost all heritable information written and how is it organised?
in DNA sequences
3x10^9 nucleotides from father and mother and there is 750 megabytes of uncompressed date
where is other information found?
in chromatin features such as in epigenetics
where do data storage errors arise from?
genetic pathologies (genome goes wrong and genetic disease results) and this is why error correction methods (ensure that the DNA is copied correctly) are important
what is epigenetics?
changes in the genome that influence the genome and are not included in the DNA code
what is the difference between DNA and RNA?
the presence and absence of the hydroyxl group on the second carbon atom
what is the effect of the chemical groups on the carbon atoms?
this changes the stability of the molecule - RNA is less stable as the breakage is faster in the phosphodiester bond (intramolecular nucleophilic attack)
which direction are DNA sequences written in?
5’-3’ direction which is the direction that DNA and RNA are synthesised in
what determines the sequences?
the order of purine and pyrimidine bases sticking out the side of the chain
at which end do new nucleotides get added?
3’ end
how are strands arranged and how are they matched?
they are antiparallel and matched by base pairing
Abb(ns) nt and bp are what?
these are shorthand loosely interchangeable terms for DNA sequences
how is shorthand usually written?
with the sense strands (which can also relate to antisense as well)
in DNA replication what happens on the antisense (lagging) strand?
Okazaki fragments are found
how do they replicate?
they unwind the structure using a helicase and then synthesise a complimentary daughter strand
how long is DNA in one chromosome?
around 9 cm
what are chromosomes?
they are the packages in which the DNA is organised as it must fit into the nucleus
how many nucleotides are wrapped around histone proteins?
around 200
what order is standard karyotype?
largest to smallest
what does diploidy refer to?
diploidy is the human genome and means that we get one gene from mother and one from father
what is the centromere?
the centromere is where the chromosomes are attached to the spindle during cell division
what is found at the end of the chromosomes?
at the end of each arm of the chromosome (p being short and q long) there is a telomere - Ptel and Qtel are different
what is the telomeric repeat sequence?
TTAGGG and includes specialised replication machinery with telomerase and TERT