Molecular Biology uwindsor lecture 1 Flashcards
What organism serves as a model eukaryote?
yeast
What does a DNA molecule consist of?
Two complementary chains of nucleotides (sugar-phosphate backbone with nitrogenous bases)
What does the structure of DNA provide?
A mechanism for heredity
What is eukaryotic DNA packaged into?
A set of chromosomes
What do chromosomes contain?
Long strings of genes
What must each DNA molecule that forms a linear chromosome contain?
A centromere, two telomeres and replication origins.
What is a gene?
A functional unit of inheritance, usually corresponding to the segment of DNA coding for a single RNA.
What is a genome?
All of an organism’s DNA sequences.
What is a locus?
The site of the gene in the genome
What are alleles?
Alternative forms of a gene
What is a genotype?
The specific set of alleles forming the genome of an individual
What is a phenotype?
The visible character of the individual
What is a wild type allele?
The normal, naturally occurring type
What is a mutant allele?
The allele that differs from the wild type because of a genetic change (a mutation)
What is a point mutation?
Maps to a singe site in the genome, corresponding to a single nucleotide pair or a very small part of a single gene.
What is an inversion?
Inverts a segment of a chromosome.
What is a deletion?
Deletes a segment of a chromosome
What is a translocation?
Breaks off a segment from one chromosome and attaches it to another.
What is a loss of function mutation?
A mutation that causes the loss of function in the resulting protein.
What is a conditional loss-of-function mutation?
A mutation that causes the protein to lose function given a specific subset of conditions.
Why are there model organisms in molecular biology?
They are much easier to study and have great relatedness to other species at the genetic level.
What makes the yeast a model eukaryote?
The budding yeast is the simplest model system. It is good for genetics and biochemistry. It is very good from studying cell division but lacking in cell to cell signalling research opportunities.