Lecture 14 - Genetics Intro

Question 1

What is genetics?

Answer 1

Study of genes, heredity and variation

Question 2

What is DNA composition and structure?

Answer 2

• composed of nucleotides (phosphate+5 carbon sugar+nitrogenous base)
• 2 helical strands
• 4 nitrogenous bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine

Question 3

What are purines?

Answer 3

Double-ring structure

- adenine and guanine

Question 4

What are pyrimidines?

Answer 4

Single-ring structure

-cytosine and thymine

Question 5

Where is DNA located?

Answer 5

On a cell’s nucleus

Also present as mitochondrial DNA

Question 6

What is DNA Directionality?

Answer 6

5’-hydroxyl group of the first nucleotide begins the strand and the 3’-hydroxyl group of the final nucleotide ends the strand

Question 7

What are genes made up of?

And functions?

Answer 7

DNA

• direct all processes of the cell : “Blue Print of Life”
• Physical and functional unit of heredity

Question 8

How are genes important for the synthesis of proteins?

Answer 8

• Provide instructions for synthesis of proteins

- “code” for a sequence of amino acids

Question 9

What are the 3 types of sequences?

Answer 9

Coding regions (exon) 
Non-coding region (interon) 
Regulatory regions

Question 10

What are Coding Regions?

Answer 10

Aka exon

- specifies a sequence of amino acids

Question 11

Non-coding region

Answer 11

Aka intron

- does not specify a sequence of amino acids

Question 12

What are regulatory regions?

Answer 12

When, where and quantity of the protein synthesized

Question 13

What is gene expression?

Answer 13

Instructions from gene used to synthesize a gene product (such as a protein)

Question 14

What is the genome?

Answer 14

The complete genetic material of an animal

Question 15

What are the steps of DNA Replication?

Answer 15

1. Separate 2 strands : unzipping completed by enzyme helicase
   - formation of “Replication fork”
2. Enzyme primase makes small portion of RNA: primer