Lecture 1 and 2 Flashcards
Define condensation reaction
Activated monomers are linked together by the removal of water
What are the three components of a nucleotide?
Nitrogen containing base
Deoxyribose (five carbon sugar),
Phosphate group
What carbon is the phosphate and hydroxyl group attached to in a nucleotide?
5’ phosphate
3’ hydroxyl
What type of bond forms between nucleotides? What is this called?
Covalent bonds
Phosphodiester bonds
(Between hydroxyl and phosphate group)
What is formed by phosphodiester bonds between nucleotides?
Sugar-phosphate backbone
How are two polynucleotide chains held together?
Hydrogen bonding between the complementary bases
DNA strands are ___parallel
Anti
What type of helix do the sugar phosphate backbones wind into?
A right handed helix
What is the formula of a phosphate group in a nucleotide?
PO4
How far apart are nucleotides in a DNA helix?
0.34nm
What distance is between each complete turn of a DNA double helix?
3.4nm
10 nucleotides
Why can each strand of DNA act as a template for the synthesis of the other?
The two anti-parallel strands are reverse complements of each other
Define transcription
The synthesis of RNA from a DNA template
What are the three differences between RNA and DNA?
Ribose replaces deoxyribose
Uracil replaces thymine
RNA is single stranded
What are the 4 types of RNA?
Messenger
Ribosomal
Transfer
Micro
What does micro RNA do?
Regulates expression of mRNA
What protein complex translates mRNA into protein?
Ribosomes
How many possible codons are there? How many amino acids?
64 codons
20 amino acids (DNA is degenerate)
What are the three stop codons?
UAG, UAA, UGA
How are amino acids linked?
Condensation reaction in the ribosome forms a peptide bond (between amino group and carboxyl group)
Why do sterioisomers of amino acids exist?
Asymmetric alpha carbon
What sterioisomer of amino acids is found in proteins?
L- amino acids (not D)
What is pi-pi stacking of aromatic rings?
Delocalised electrons generate a weak charge in aromatic side chains
What electrostatic interactions can delocalised electrons in aromatic rings participate in?
- Other aromatic pi-pi stacking
- Cations (side chains of lys, arg, ions and ligands)
What are the 9 classes of proteins?
Enzymes, structural, motility, regulatory, transport, hormonal, receptor, defensive, storage
What does it mean that amino acid chains have directionality?
N-terminus (amino acid group) at one end, C-terminus (carboxyl group) at the other
What type of bonding is responsible for the local folding of proteins (secondary structure)
Hydrogen bonding
Define alpha helix
Coiled form of peptide chain
How are alpha helix stabilized?
Regular hydrogen bonds between carbonyls and N-H groups of secondary amides of the peptide bond, 4 amino acids apart
How many amino acids are there per turn of the alpha helix?
3.6
What are beta sheets comprised of?
Adjacent beta strands, stabilized by regular hydrogen bonds between carbonyls and amides of the peptide backbone
What are the features of a beta sheet?
More extended chain than a helix
Alternate R groups point above and below the flat sheet
Define tertiary structure of a protein.
The overall 3D shape of a protein
What forces stabilize the tertiary structure of a protein?
Hydrogen bonds, van der waals forces Disulphide bridges (covalent bond) Salt bridges (ioninc bond)
What is a monomeric protein?
A protein consisting of only one polypeptide chain
Define quaternary structure.
Interaction of two or more polypeptide chains to form a protein complex