module 2 - 3.10 protein synthesis Flashcards
what is the central dogma of molecular biology?
DNA —transcription–> / <–reverse transcription– RNA –translation–> polypeptide
what is transcription?
- the process of making a copy of something
- info held on DNA molecule is transcribed into info held on mRNA molecule
how is a copy of the DNA base sequence made?
made as an mRNA molecule by RNA polymerase
what does mRNA do?
moves genetic information and genes from nuclear pores to ribosomes
what is translation?
the process of conversion of something from one form into another e.g. language
what is the sequence of codons on the mRNA translated into?
a sequence of amino acids, making a polypeptide
what does translation use to transfer tRNA molecules?
ribosomes
what is 1 language?
what is 2 language?
- codons
- amino acids
why is information in DNA transcribed into mRNA?
so it can be used multiple times
what is the first stage of transcription?
initiation
what is the promoter region?
RNA polymerase binding site for DNA
what is the sense strand of DNA?
holds the triplet code for the sequence of amino acids
what is the antisense strand of DNA?
does not code for the sequence of amino acids but is complementary in base sequence to the sense DNA strand
what does the antisense strand act as?
acts as the template DNA strand for RNA polymerase so that the mRNA has the same base sequence as the sense DNA strand
what is the second stage of transcription?
elongation
what is RNA polymerase’s error rate from its proof reading ability?
1 in 10^4 to 10^6
what is the fidelity of RNA polymerase making mRNA?
high fidelity
how many nucleotides can RNA polymerase synthesize per second?
40-80 nucleotides per second
what is the third stage of transcription?
termination
what do all polypeptides have as their first amino acid?
methionine