Molecular Basics of Genetics Flashcards

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1
Q

Who discovered the structure of DNA?

A

Watson and Crick

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2
Q

What are the polymers of Nucleotides?

A

DNA and RNA

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3
Q

What is a nucleotide?

A

building blocks of an nucleic acid, there are 3 parts: phosphate group, nitrogenous base and a sugar

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4
Q

What are the 3 differences between RNA and DNA

A
  1. DNA is a two stranded double helix, RNA only has 1 strand
  2. Uracil replaces Thymine as one of the bases in RNA
  3. RNA has 1 more oxygen atom in its sugar (deoxyribose vs ribose)
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5
Q

What is the structure of DNA?

A

Double helix, antiparallell base strands, nucleotides linked by hydrogen bonding between complimentary base pairs

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6
Q

What helps to supercoil DNA?

A

DNA gyrase

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7
Q

What is the role of DNA polymerase?

A

add nucleotides to the 3’ end of a primer so that its actually adding it 5’ to 3’

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8
Q

What are the two strands in DNA replication?

A

Leading strand and lagging strand

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9
Q

What strand has continuous replication?

A

Leading strand

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10
Q

What is an Okazaki fragment?

A

Section of lagging strand that had been replicated

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11
Q

What is helicase?

A

enzyme that unwinds the double helix by breaking hydrogen bonds in between bases, used to in the process of copying DNA

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12
Q

What is DNA gyrase?

A

enzyme that is essential in DNA supercoiling

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13
Q

What is DNA primase?

A

type of RNA polymerase

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14
Q

What is a dideoxyribonucleotide?

A

type of nucleotide which inhibits DNA polymerase

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15
Q

What are tandem repeats?

A

occur when a sequence of nucleotides repeats next to each other

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16
Q

What are the regions of DNA that do not code for proteins?

A

Regulators of gene expression, introns, telomeres, genes for tRNA

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17
Q

What is transcription?

A

synthesis of mRNA copied from the DNA base sequences

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18
Q

What is translation?

A

synthesis of polypeptides on ribosomes

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19
Q

How is the amino acid sequence determined?

A

codons on rna

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20
Q

What is a codon?

A

sequence of 3 nitrogenous bases

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21
Q

What codes for an amino acid?

A

A combination of 3 nitrogenous bases

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22
Q

What is an anticodon?

A

opposite three codons from those on mRNA

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23
Q

What does translation depend on?

A

complementary base pairing between complementary codons on mRNA and anticodons on tRNA

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24
Q

What are the 3 types of RNA?

A

Messanger, Transport, Ribosome

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25
Q

Which direction does transcription occur?

A

5’ to 3’

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26
Q

What helps regulate transcription in eukaryotes?

A

Nucleosomes, they can control how tightly a gene is wrapped so a section that is “turned off” is tightly wrapped and inaccessible

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27
Q

What is different between Eukaryotes and Prokaryotes mRNA after transcription?

A

Eukaryotic cells modify mRNA

28
Q

What does splicing mRNA do?

A

increases the number of different proteins an organism can produce

29
Q

What regulates gene expression?

A

proteins that bind to specific base sequences in DNA

30
Q

What can impact gene expression?

A

environment of a cell, or the organism

31
Q

What is the promoter?

A

region of DNA that initiates transcription for that gene

32
Q

What is an example of non-coding DNA?

A

sequences that do not code for proteins

33
Q

What does RNA polymerase add from the free end of an RNA nucleotide?

A

adds the 5’ end to the 3’ end of the mRNA molecule

34
Q

What is the operon?

A

a unit made up of linked genes that is thought to regulate other genes responsible for protein synthesis

35
Q

What is a polymer?

A

chain of monomers

36
Q

What is a phosphodiester linkage?

A

bond between oxygen and phosphorus between the sugars attached to nitrogenous bases

37
Q

Where does DNA polymerase 3 act?

A

Leading strand

38
Q

Where does DNA polymerase 1 act?

A

Lagging strand

39
Q

What direction does the leading strand go?

A

5’ to 3’

40
Q

What direction does the lagging strand go?

A

3’ to 5’

41
Q

What is a histone?

A

group of proteins found in chromosomes

42
Q

How does DNA prepare for division?

A

Chromatin fibres spiral tightly to form chromosomes, this makes it so that after cell division they can unwrap and are accessible again

43
Q

What are the steps in DNA replication?

A
  1. Helicase splits DNA molecule apart
  2. RNA primase inserts RNA nulcleoties at the incitation point
  3. DNA polymerase binds complimentary leading strand
  4. RNA primase attaches more RNA primer in the remaining gaps, creating okazaki fragments
44
Q

What is RNA primase?

A

goes over a single DNA strand and creates RNA sequences called primers, which transcribe DNA into RNA

45
Q

What is the sense strand?

A

coding strand that runs 5’ to 3’

46
Q

What is the non-sense strand?

A

used as a template for mRNA

47
Q

What is transcription?

A

making more mRNA

48
Q

What is the process of transcription?

A
  1. promoter region allows DNA polymerase to initiate RNA synthesis
  2. DNA rewinds after DNA polymerase has passed
49
Q

What is the role of RNA polymerase?

A

transcribes RNA

50
Q

What does RNA polymerase II read?

A

TATAAAAA

51
Q

What does RNA polymerase III read?

A

ATATTTTT

52
Q

What happens to unedited mRNA after it is created?

A
  1. Introns are removed
  2. Methyl Guanine Cap (5’ cap)
  3. Poly - A Tail
53
Q

What is an intron?

A

sequence of RNA or DNA that is not needed, or doesn’t code for proteins

54
Q

What is an exon?

A

sequence of RNA that codes for proteins

55
Q

What is the lac operon?

A

inducible expression

56
Q

What is the tryp operon?

A

controlled expression

57
Q

How does the lac operon work?

A

concentration of lactose fills the allosteric site on the repressor, turning it off so DNA polymerase can continue transcription

58
Q

How does the tryp operon work?

A

Repressors are activated at the allosteric site, moves to cover part of the DNA so the section cannot be transcribed

59
Q

What is the central dogma of biology?

A

DNA -> RNA -> Protein

60
Q

What is replication?

A

DNA making more of itself

61
Q

What is transcription?

A

DNA -> RNA

62
Q

What is translation?

A

RNA -> Protein

63
Q

Who was Chargaff?

A

He discovered that there were ratios between the use of A, T, C, and G

64
Q

What is tRNA usually carrying?

A

Methionine

65
Q

What is a primer?

A

3 Nucleotides added by RNA primase

66
Q

What is splicing?

A

removing introns