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Molecular Biology Flashcards

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1
Q

Why are DNA and RNA called nucleic acids?

A

they are found in the nucleus and possess many acidic phosphate groups

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2
Q

What is the building block of DNA?

A

deoxyribonucleoside 5’ triphosphate (dNTP)

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3
Q

What are the three components of deoxyribonucleotides?

A
  1. ribose (simple monosaccharide)
  2. aromatic base (A, G, C, T)
  3. phosphate group
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4
Q

What modification makes ribose special?

A

the 2’ OH is missing, so it is deoxyribose

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5
Q

Why are the aromatic molecules A, G, C, T bases?

A

they contain several nitrogens which have free electron pairs capable of accepting protons

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6
Q

Purines? Pyrimidines?

A

GA (two rings)

CUT

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7
Q

What is a nucleoside?

A

ribose with a purine or pyrimidine linked to the 1’ carbon in a Beta-N-glycosidic linkage

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8
Q

In the Beta-N-glycosidic linkage of a nucleoside, is the aromatic base above or below the plane of ribose in a Haworth projection?

A

above

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9
Q

Will A and T H-bond with each other in a dilute aqueous solution?

A

no they will be H-bonded with water

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10
Q

What is the key determinant of the double stranded structure of DNA?

A

H-bonds

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11
Q

Do DNA bases interact with water?

A

no because the DNA coiling places them inside the double helix where they interact with each other

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12
Q

Nucleotides are _________ of nucleosides.

A

phosphate esters

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13
Q

Where does the phosphate group attach on the ribose ring?

A

5’ OH group

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14
Q

What is called when nucleotides contain three phosphates?

A

deoxynucleoside triphosphates (dNTP)

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15
Q

What is the backbone? Why?

A

ribose + phosphate because it doesnt change

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16
Q

What is the backbone in protein, and what is the variable portion?

A

peptide bonds with a carbon between them

R group

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17
Q

What is a deoxynucleoside?

A

just the ribose and the aromatic base

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18
Q

Nucleotides in DNA chain are covalently linked by _______.

A

phosphodiester bonds between the 3’ hydroxy groups of one deoxyribose and the 5’ phoshphate group of the next deoxyribose

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19
Q

Which reaction is more thermodynamically favorable: the polymerization of nucleoside monophosphates, or the polymerization of nucleoside triphosphates?

A

triphosphate because pyrophosphate is released and hydrolyzed driving the reaction forward

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20
Q

What is a polymer of several nucleotides linked together?

A

oligonucleotide or poly

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21
Q

A polynucleotide is named in what direction?

A

5’ to 3’

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22
Q

In AGCT, which has the the free 5’ and 3’ groups?

A

A

T

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23
Q

What common protein structure often depends on H-bonds between anitparallel chains?

A

beta pleeted sheets in secondary structure

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24
Q

how many nucleotides long is a kbp?

A

1,000

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25
Q

What is annealing, or hybridization?

A

the binding of two complementary strands of DNA into a double stranded structure

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26
Q

what is melting, or denaturation?

A

separation of strands

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27
Q

What is the Tm?

A

the temp at which a solution of DNA molecules is 50% melted

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28
Q

If you attached methyl groups to all the acidic phosphate oxygens along the length of a DNA double helix, would the chain have a higher or lower Tm than normal DNA?

A

the methyl groups are non charged meaning they will not repel each other so it will take more kinetic energy to melt them so Tm would be higher

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29
Q

The two hydrogen bonded antiparallel DNA strands form a ______ handed double helix with the bases on the ______ and the ribose/phosphate backbone on the _______.

A

right
interior
exterior

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30
Q

What stabilizes the double helix?

A
  • Van der Waals forces between the bases, which are stacked on each other
  • hydrophobic interactions
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31
Q

How far away from each other are the bases when they are stacked?

A

3.4 angstroms

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32
Q

The helix pattern repeats itself once every ___ angstroms, which is every ___ base pairs.

A

34

10

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33
Q

What is the width of the double helix?

A

20 angstroms

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34
Q

What is one angstrom in meters?

A

10^-10 meters

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35
Q

What is the genome?

A

sum total of an organism’s genetic info

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36
Q

Each piece of double stranded DNA is called a ______.

A

chromosome

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37
Q

Prokaryotic genomes are composed of a __________.

A

single circular chromosome

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38
Q

T/F

Viral genomes are always circular.

A

False

they can be linear or circular

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39
Q

The human genome consists of ___ base pairs while the bacterial genomes consist of ____ base pairs.

A

10^9

10^6

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40
Q

What is the cause of the size difference between human genomes and bacterial genomes?

A

it is the result of repetitive DNA that has no know function, not due to evolutionary sophistication

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41
Q

What is the role of DNA Gyrase?

A

it uses the energy of ATP to twist the gigantic circular molecule in prokaryotes to make DNA more compact and sturdy

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42
Q

How does DNA Gyrase function?

A

by breaking the DNA and twisting the two sides of the circle around each other (supercoils)

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43
Q

What is Eukaryotic DNA wrapped around to package it tighter?

A

histones

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44
Q

DNA with the appearance of beads on a string?

A

nucleosomes

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45
Q

Nucleosomes are composed of DNA that are wrapped around an _____ of histones.

A

octamer (8 histones)

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46
Q

The string between the beads is a length of double helical DNA called ______ and is bound by a single _______.

A

linker DNA

linker histone

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47
Q

Fully packed DNA is called _____.

A

chromatin

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48
Q

Are histones basic or acidic?

A

basic (Arg,Lys) because they are attracted to the acidic exterior of DNA double helix

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49
Q

If you start with a deoxyribose what do you add to get a nucleoside?

A

base

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50
Q

What do you add to nucleoside to get a nucleotide?

A

three phosphates

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51
Q

How do you get an oligonucleotide from a nucleotide?

A

polymerize with loss of two phosphates

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52
Q

How do you go from a single stranded polynucleotide to double stranded DNA?

A

two complete chains H-bond in antiparallel orientation

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53
Q

How do you go from a ds-DNA to a ds-helix?

A

coiling

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54
Q

How do you go from a ds-helix to a nucleosome?

A

wrap around histones

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55
Q

What is the next step in DNA packaging after nucleosomes?

A

complete packaging into chromatin

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56
Q

Process of converting DNA to RNA?

A

Transcription

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57
Q

Process of converting RNA to protein?

A

Translation

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58
Q

Central Dogma?

A

DNA to RNA to Protein

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59
Q

Summary of process of converting DNA to protein?

A
  1. DNA is copied to mRNA
  2. mRNA travels to cytoplasm where it encounters ribosomes which contain many proteins (rRNA)
  3. ribosome synthesizes polypeptides to make protein according to DNA’s original orders
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60
Q

What are the three stop codons?

A

UAA
UAG
UGA

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61
Q

How many codons are there? How many specify amino acids?

A

64
61
3 stop

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62
Q

What is another name for stop codons?

A

nonsense codons

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63
Q

What is the term for two or more codons coding for the same amino acid?

A

synonyms

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64
Q

T/F

Each codon specifies only a single amino acid

A

True

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65
Q

Intercalating?

A

inserting themselves between base pairs

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66
Q

Mutagen?

A

any compound that can cause mutations

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67
Q

What are the three kinds of mutations?

A
  1. point
  2. insertion
  3. deletion
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68
Q

What is a point mutation?

A

single base pair substitution

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69
Q

What are the two types of point mutations?

A
  1. transitions- ex. sub of a purine for another purine

2. transversions- sub a purine for pyrimidine

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70
Q

What are the three subclasses of point mutations?

A
  1. missense- one amino acid is replaced by different amino acid
  2. nonsense- stop codon replaces a regular codon
  3. silent- codon is changed to another codon for the same amino acid
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71
Q

If a missense mutation leads to little change in the structure and function of the gene product, it is called a _______.

A

conservative mutation

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72
Q

What can insertions and deletions cause?

A

frameshift mutations- shift in the reading frame

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73
Q

Are all insertions and deletions frameshift mutations?

A

no not if a whole codon is replaced by another codon

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74
Q

Replication occurs during the ______ in interphase of the cell cycle.

A

S phase

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75
Q

Semiconservative?

A

1 parental, 1 daughter together

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76
Q

Conservative?

A

2 parental together

2 daughter together

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77
Q

Dispersive?

A

mixture of parent and daughter strands

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78
Q

T/F

DNA replication is semiconservative.

A

True

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79
Q

What does DNA polymerase do?

A

catalyzes the elongation of the daughter strand using the parental template

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80
Q

What is the thermodynamic driving force of polymerizatioin?

A

the removal and hydrolysis of pyrophosphate from each dNTP added to the chain

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81
Q

Polymerization (replication) occurs in what direction?

A

5’ to 3’

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82
Q

The template strand is read in what direction?

A

3’ to 5’

83
Q

T/F

DNA pol does not require a template.

A

False

84
Q

T/F

DNA pol requires a primer.

A

True

85
Q

Where does the primer for DNA pol come from?

A

an RNA polymerase called Primase begins DNA replication by creating a small RNA primer that DNA pol can elongate by adding deoxyribonucleotides to the existing primer, the primer is later replaced by DNA

86
Q

What enzyme unwinds the DNA and separates the strands to start replication?

A

Helicase

87
Q

Would helicase use ATP to separate the strands?

A

yes because separating the strands requires breaking many H-bonds

88
Q

How is the origin of replication found?

A

enzymes scan for the right nucleotide sequence

89
Q

What enzyme relives the stress of coiling on either side of the replication fork brought on by helicase?

A

Topoisomerase

90
Q

What protein keeps the strands separated?

A

single stranded binding proteins (SSBP)

91
Q

After the strands have been separated, what is the first step to start replication?

A

synthesis of RNA primer on each template strand

92
Q

How does DNA pol elongate primer?

A

by adding dNTPs to its 3’ end

93
Q

T/F

Replication proceeds along in both directions away from the origin.

A

True

94
Q

The leading strand is synthesized ______ while the lagging strand is synthesized ______.

A

continuously

discontinuous

95
Q

What chunks of DNA comprise the lagging strand?

A

Okazaki fragments

96
Q

After RNA primers are replaced by DNA, the fragments are joined by what enzyme?

A

DNA ligase

97
Q

What is the difference in the origin of replication between prokaryotes and eukaryotes?

A

Eukaryotes have many origins or replication bubbles because their chromosomes are huge whereas Prokaryotes only have one origin

98
Q

Prokaryotic replication is also know as ________.

A

Theta replication

99
Q

How many DNA polymerases are in prokaryotes?

A

3

100
Q

What is the function of DNA polymerase III?

A

responsible for synthesizing the leading strand very fast in the 5’ to 3’ direction

101
Q

Can DNA pol III correct its mistakes? how?

A

yes it can chop off the nucleotide it just put on in a process known as proofreading using a 3’ to 5’ exonuclease activity

102
Q

Difference between exonuclease and endonuclease?

A

Exo- cuts at the end

Endo- cuts in the middle

103
Q

What are two important types of endonucleases?

A
  • Repair enzymes- remove chemically damaged DNA from the chain
  • Restriction enzymes- to destroy DNA of infecting viruses
104
Q

What is the role of DNA pol II?

A

unknown

105
Q

What is the role of DNA pol I?

A

remove the primer and replace it with DNA

106
Q

DNA pol I has _____ exonuclease activity.

A

5’ to 3’

107
Q

What are three ways that RNA is chemically distinct from DNA?

A
  1. single stranded
  2. contains uracil instead of thymine
  3. pentose ring is ribose instead of deoxyribose
108
Q

What makes RNA less stable than DNA?

A

2’ OH group in RNA is highly reactive, DNA has a 2’ H

109
Q

Why does RNA have uracil and DNA has thymine?

A

thymine is easier for DNA repair systems to work with, RNA is less energy costly which makes it easier for RNA to move around

110
Q

Why are drugs that block thymine used for cancer therapy?

A

thymine is only used in replication, so if it is blocked only replication is inhibited and the rest of the cell can function

111
Q

mRNA?
tRNA?
rRNA?

A

mRNA- carries genetic info from the nucleus to the cytoplasm for translation

tRNA- translates genetic code

rRNA- components of the ribosome, catalytic function of ribosome

112
Q

Eukaryotic mRNA is ____cistronic.

A

mono

113
Q

Monocistronic?

A

one gene, one protein

there are as many different mRNAs as there are proteins

114
Q

Prokaryotic mRNA is ___cistronic.

A

poly

115
Q

How many different tRNAs are there?

A

20, one for each amino acid

116
Q

T/F

Both replication and transcription involve template driven polymerization.

A

true

117
Q

Transcription occurs in the ______ direction.

A

5’ to 3’

118
Q

Does RNA pol require a primer for transcription?

A

no

119
Q

Does RNA pol have exonuclease ability?

A

no it cannot correct its errors

120
Q

Transcription is a _____ fidelity process than replication.

A

lower

121
Q

what is the name of the place where transcription starts?

A

the start site

122
Q

What activates RNA pol to begin transcription?

A

promoter

123
Q

T/F
Transcription is the principle site of the regulation of gene expression in just eukaryotes meaning that the amount of each protein made in every cell is controlled by the amount of RNA that gets transcribed.

A

False

in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes

124
Q

What are some names for the strand that is transcribed?

A

template, non coding, transcribed, antisense

it is complementary to the transcript

125
Q

What are some names for the DNA strand that is not transcribed?

A

coding, sense

it is the same sequence as the transcript but with T instead of U

126
Q

Transcription proceeds upstream or downstream?

A

downstream

127
Q

Downstream?

Upstream?

A
  • toward 3’ end of coding strand and transcript (+)

- toward 5’ end of coding strand, beyond transcript (-)

128
Q

In prokaryotes, all types of RNA are made by the _____ RNA polymerase.

A

same

129
Q

How many subunits does prokaryotic RNA polymerase have? whats it called?

A

5
2 alpha, 1 beta, 1 beta’, 1 omega
called the core enzyme

130
Q

What is the core enzyme responsible for in prokaryotic transcription?

A

rapid elongation of the transcript

131
Q

What is the role of the sigma factor in prokaryote transcription?

A

required to form the holoenzyme which is responsible for initiation

132
Q

What are the three stages of transcription?

A
  1. Initiation
  2. Elongation
  3. Termination
133
Q

Initiation occurs in prokaryotic transcription when ______.

A

RNA pol holoenzyme binds to a promoter

134
Q

What are the typical promoters in prokaryotic transcription?

A
  • 10 box (Pribnow)

- 35 sequence

135
Q

Holoenzyme scans along the chromosome until it recognizes a promoter and then stops, forming a _______.

A

closed complex

136
Q

When can transcription begin in prok?

A

once the open complex has formed by RNA pol binding to the promoter with a region of single stranded DNA

137
Q

What two roles does the sigma factor play in helping the polymerase find promoters?

A
  1. greatly increase the ability of RNA pol to recognize promoters
  2. decrease the nonspecific affinity of holoenzyme for DNA
138
Q

The core enzyme elongates the RNA _______, with one pol complex synthesizing an entire RNA molecule.

A

processively

139
Q

As the core enzyme elongates the RNA, it moves along the DNA ______ in a transcription bubble.

A

downstream

140
Q

What happens when a termination signal is detected (Rho) in prok transcription?

A

pol falls off of DNA, releases the RNA, bubble closes

141
Q

T/F

tRNA and rRNA are polypeptides.

A

False

gene products

142
Q

The transcription of anabolic pathways should be ______ by their product.

A

inhibited

143
Q

The transcription of catabolic pathways should be inhibited whenever ________.

A

their substrate is not around, and activated when it is.

144
Q

Anabolic enzymes are________. Catabolic enzymes are ______.

A

repressible

inducible

145
Q

What are the 4 main differences between prok and Euk transcription?

A
  1. location of transcription
  2. primary transcript and mRNA
  3. RNA pol
  4. regulation
146
Q

Karyon?

A

nucleus

147
Q

Location of transcription Prok vs Euk?

A

Prok- occurs in cytoplasm, transcription and translation can occur simultaneously

Euk- occurs in nucleus, then RNA is modified, transport across nuclear membrane to cytoplasm where translation can occur, does not occur simultaneously

148
Q

Difference in RNA pol Prok vs Euk?

A

Prok- RNA pol complex (aBB’sigmaomega)

Euk- three different RNA pols

149
Q

What are the roles of the three RNA pol in Eukaryotic transcription?

A
  1. transcribe rRNA
  2. transcribe mRNA
  3. transcribe tRNA
150
Q

T/F
One difference is in Euk the transcript is ready to be translated immediately, whereas the Prok transcript needs to be modified.

A

False

its the other way around

151
Q

What is the most important example of the Euk transcript is modified before translation?

A

splicing

152
Q

Euk mRNA has intervening sequences that do not code for anything that are called ______.

A

introns

153
Q

The regions of Euk mRNA that actually get expressed are called ______.

A

exons

154
Q

What is splicing?

A

the process of removing introns and joining exons together

155
Q

What type of RNA is found in the nucleus that is the primary transcript made by RNA pol II, before splicing?

A

heterogeneous nuclear RNA (hnRNA)

156
Q

What is the 5’ cap? 3’ poly A tail? importance?

A
  • 5- cap- methylated guanine nucleotide stuck on the 5’ end, important for translation, preventing digestion of the mRNA by exonucleases that are free in the cell
  • Tail- string of several hundred adenine nucleotides, important in preventing digestion of the mRNA by exonucleases that are free in the cell
157
Q

Why would exonucleases be floating free in the cell?

A
  1. mRNA has a very short lifespan

2. virus injected it

158
Q

How can there be synthesis of two different polypeptides from one piece of RNA?

A

splicing (hnRNA)

159
Q

In prok transcription, what is the problem with having some promoters stronger than others as a mechanism of regulation?

A

it is pre set so it does not respond to change

160
Q

What advantage is there in turning off the genes when the protein products arent required if they are not harmful?

A

it requires a lot of energy to synthesize RNA and protein, so it is more efficient to transcribe what is needed

161
Q

What type of enzymes are used in anabolic processes? why?

A

repressible because transcription is inhibited in the presence of excess amounts so they dont keep building more up

162
Q

What type of enzymes are used in catabolic processes? why?

A

inducible because transcription is stimulated when there is an abundance of substrate

163
Q

What two components does the Lac operon have?

A
  1. coding sequence for enzymes

2. upstream regulatory sequences (control sites)

164
Q

What two regulatory sequences does the Lac operon contain?

A

the promoter and the lac operator

165
Q

What is the purpose of transcription in the Lac operon?

A

DNA is transcribed to RNA which is translated to make three enzymes used for lactose catabolism

166
Q

What is the role of the repressor in Lac operon?

A

sits on the operator and prevents RNA pol from binding to the promoter and transcribing

167
Q

What happens when lactose is high in the cell in Lac operon?

A

lactose is converted to allolactose which binds to the repressor causing a conformational change, the repressor falls off the operator, RNA pol can bind and transcription proceeds

168
Q

What happens when lactose is low in Lac operon?

A

there isnt enough to bind to the repressor so transcription is stopped

169
Q

If the operator is mutated so that the lac repressor can no longer bind, what effect will this have on transcription?

A

nothing will stop RNA pol from transcribing so it will continue

170
Q

If a mutation in a Euk fat cell reduces the level of several proteins related to fat metabolism, does this mean the proteins are encoded by the same mRNA?

A

no, Euk are monocistronic meaning one mRNA can encode for only one protein

171
Q

Basic summary of translation?

A

mRNA attaches to a ribosome at a specific codon, the specific amino acid is delivered by a tRNA, then the second amino acid is delivered by another tRNA, the ribosome binds them together to get a dipeptide, it continues until the polypeptide is complete

172
Q

What is the anticodon?

A

sequence of three ribonucleotides that is complementary to the codon the tRNA translates

173
Q

T/F

base pairing between the tRNA anticodon and the mRNA codon are specific.

A

True

174
Q

Do the three nucleotides in the anticodon contribute to the tertiary structure of the tRNA?

A

no the anticodon needs to be ready to base pair with the codon

175
Q

Where is the amino acid attached to the tRNA?

A

amino acid acceptor site

176
Q

If you looked at many tRNA molecules, which region would you expect to vary the most?

A

the anticodon because it is different on every tRNA molecule so it can bind to its specific amino acid

177
Q

Describe the thermodynamics and kinetics of peptide bond formation during protein synthesis. What is used to power this process?

A

it is unfavorable (G>0) and slow (high Ea)

reaction coupling

178
Q

If the amino acid acceptor sites are the same, how is the attachment of the appropriate amino acid accomplished?

A

aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase enzyme

179
Q

How does aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase enzyme recognize the correct amino acid?

A

it recognizes the tertiary structure of both the amino acid and the tRNA

180
Q

What is it called when the amino acid is attached to the tRNA?

A

amino acid activation

181
Q

What is used for the activation of each amino acid?

A

two high energy phosphate bonds (equals 2 ATP)

182
Q

Prok Ribosome? Two subunits in cytoplasm?

A

70S

50S and 30S

183
Q

Euk Ribosome? Two subunits in cytoplasm?

A

80S

60S and 40S

184
Q

What are the three binding sites in the complete ribosome (both subunits together)?

A
  1. A site- where each new tRNA delivers its amino acid
  2. P site- where the growing polypeptide chain, still attached to a tRNA, is located during translation
  3. E site- where the now empty tRNA sits prior to its release from the ribosome
185
Q

In Prok, does translation always begin at the 5’ end?

A

since it is polycistronic, there is more than one translation start site so they cant all be at the end

186
Q

What is the Shine Dalgarno sequence in Prok?

A

ribosome binding site which acts as a promoter for initiation of translation (-10 upstream)

187
Q

Initiation of translation in Prok requires the formation of _____.

A

70S initiation complex

188
Q

What makes up the 70S initiation complex in Prok?

A

30S subunit
mRNA
first aminoacyl tRNA
50S subunit

189
Q

What powers the process of the formation of the 70S complex?

A

hydrolysis of one GTP

190
Q

What is the initiator tRNA in Prok?

A

fMET-tRNA or mylmethionine which is a modified amino acid used as the first amino acid in all Prok proteins

191
Q

What is the start codon?

A

AUG

192
Q

What are the three steps in elongation in Prok translation?

A
  1. the 2nd aminoacyl tRNA enters the A site and H-bonds with the 2nd codon (takes 1 GTP)
  2. peptidyl transferase catalyzes the formation of a peptide bond between fMET and the second amino acid
  3. translocation- tRNA 1 moves into the E site, tRNA 2 moves into the P site, next codon moves into the A site (takes 1 GTP)
193
Q

What happens if tRNA binding to the E site is disrupted?

A

increase in the number of frameshift mutations in resulting protein

194
Q

When does termination occur in Prok translation?

A

when a stop codon appears in the A site, then a release factor enters the A site

195
Q

How many high energy phosphate bonds are required to make a 50 amino acid polypeptide chain?

A

199

costs about 4n or 50 X 4= about 200

196
Q

What is the direction of translation in prok?

A

N to C

197
Q

What is different about Euk translation as opposed to Prok?

A
  • ribosome is larger
  • translation and transcription cannot occur simultaneously
  • N terminal amino acid is different (Met instead of fMet)
  • splicing, capping, tailing
  • do not use shine dalgarno sequence to initiate, uses Kozak sequence
198
Q

What processes can occur simultaneously in Euk?

A

transcription and splicing because they both occur in the nucleus

199
Q

A competitive inhibitor of Euk RNA pol III would have the greatest effect on _______. Why?

A

translation

because RNA pol III transcribes tRNA

200
Q

T/F

In Euk mRNA, transcription stops at the stop codon.

A

False

translation stops at the stop codon, transcription stops when it is signalled

201
Q

Which is less accurate, transcription or replication?

A

transcription

202
Q

What do telomeres do?

A
  • lengthen the ends of DNA

- protect the ends of the chromosomes from damage due to incomplete replication

203
Q

What would a longer half life of RNA lead to?

A

more protein would be translated because it would stay in the cell longer

MCAT TPR Biology (7 decks)

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