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Grade 12 Bio > Molecular Genetics > Flashcards

Molecular Genetics Flashcards

1
Q

Histone

A

A special protein molecule that is the core around which the DNA strand wraps

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2
Q

Genome

A

The complete set of an organism’s hereditary information

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3
Q

Transformation

A

A change in a genotype or phenotype caused by the direct uptake of genetic material by a cell

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4
Q

Bacteriophage

A

A virus that infects bacteria

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5
Q

Purine

A

A class of nitrogenous bases with a double-ring structure; adenine and guanine are purines

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6
Q

Pyrimidine

A

A class of nitrogenous bases with a single-ring structure; thymine and cytosine are pyrimidines

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7
Q

Complementary base pairing

A

The chemical tendency of adenine to form hydrogen bonds with thymine, and cytosine to form hydrogen bonds with guanine

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8
Q

Semiconservative replication

A

A mechanism of DNA replication in which each of the two strands of parent DNA is incorporated into a new double-stranded DNA molecule

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9
Q

Replication origin

A

A specific sequence of DNA that acts as a starting point for replication

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10
Q

Helicase

A

A replication enzyme that separates and unwinds the DNA strands

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11
Q

Replication fork

A

The point of separation of the two parent DNA strands during replication

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12
Q

Topoisomerases

A

A class of enzymes that relieve tension caused by the unwinding of parent DNA; they cleave one or two of the DNA strands, allow the strand(s) to untwist, and then rejoin the strand(s)

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13
Q

Single-strand binding protein (SSB)

A

A replication enzyme that prevents parent DNA strands from annealing to each other once they have been separated by helicase

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14
Q

Replication bubble

A

The separating of DNA in both directions during replication

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15
Q

Nucleoside triphosphate

A

A building block and energy source for replicating DNA

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16
Q

RNA primase

A

A replication enzyme that produces RNA primers

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17
Q

RNA primer

A

A replication molecule that acts as a starting point for replication

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18
Q

DNA polymerase III

A

A prokaryotic replication enzyme that builds new DNA strands from nucleotides

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19
Q

Leading strand

A

The DNA strand that is copied in the direction toward the replication fork

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20
Q

Lagging strand

A

The DNA strand that is copied in the direction away from the replication fork

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21
Q

Okazaki fragment

A

The piece of new DNA on the lagging strand

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22
Q

DNA polymerase I

A

A prokaryotic replication enzyme that fills in gaps in the lagging strand between Okazaki fragments; also proofreads the final strands

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23
Q

DNA ligase

A

An enzyme that catalyzes the formation of a phosphodiester bond between two DNA strands, as well as between Okazaki fragments

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24
Q

DNA polymerase II

A

A prokaryotic replication enzyme that repairs damage to DNA, including damage that occurs between replication events

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25
Q

Nucleosome

A

A unit of DNA storage, consisting of eight histones with DNA strands wrapped around them; the DNA around each nucleosome is about 147 nucleotides in length

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26
Q

Solenoid

A

A group of six nucleosomes

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27
Q

Telomere

A

A repeating sequence of DNA at the end of a chromosome that protects coding regions from being lost during replication

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28
Q

Supercoiling

A

The continuous twisting of prokaryotic DNA that reduces the volume of the DNA

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29
Q

Cell senescence

A

The period in a cell’s lifespan when it loses the ability to divide and grow; often referred to as cell aging

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30
Q

Hayflick limit

A

The total number of times that a normal cell can divide

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31
Q

Telomerase

A

An enzyme that adds new telomere sequences to the ends of chromosomes

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32
Q

One gene-one enzyme hypothesis

A

The hypothesis, proposed by Beadle and Tatum, that each gene is unique and codes for the synthesis of a single enzyme

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33
Q

One gene-one polypeptide hypothesis

A

The hypothesis that each gene is unique and codes for the synthesis of a single polypeptide; the restated version of the non gene-one enzyme hypothesis

34
Q

Central dogma

A

The fundamental principle of molecular genetics, which states that genetic information flows from DNA to RNA to proteins

35
Q

Transcription

A

Mechanism by which the information coded in nucleic acids of DNA is copied into nucleic acids of RNA; something rewritten in the same language

36
Q

Translation

A

Mechanism by which the information coded in the nucleic acids of RNA is copied into the amino acids of proteins

37
Q

Messenger RNA (mRNA)

A

The end product of the transcription of a gene; mRNA is translated by ribosomes into a protein

38
Q

Transfer RNA (tRNA)

A

A carrier molecule that binds to a specific amino acid and adds the amino acid to the growing polypeptide chain

39
Q

Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)

A

An RNA molecule within the ribosome that bonds the correct amino acid to the polypeptide chain

40
Q

RNA polymerase

A

An enzyme that reads a DNA strand and creates a complementary strand of RNA

41
Q

Template strand

A

The DNA strand that is copied into an mRNA molecule during gene transcription

42
Q

Precursor mRNA (pre-mRNA)

A

The initial RNA transcription product

43
Q

Genetic code

A

The specific coding relationship between bases and the amino acids they specify; the genetic code can be expressed in terms of either DNA or RNA bases

44
Q

Codon

A

A group of three base pairs that code for an individual amino acid

45
Q

Start codon (initiator codon)

A

The codon that signals the start of a polypeptide chain and initiates translation
Ex. AUG

46
Q

Stop codon

A

A codon that signals the end of a polypeptide chain and causes the ribosome to terminate translation
Ex. UAA, UAG, UGA

47
Q

Promotor

A

A nucleotide sequence that lies just before a gene and allows for the binding of RNA polymerase

48
Q

TATA box

A

A region of the promoter that enables the binding of RNA polymerase

49
Q

Coding strand

A

The DNA strand that is not being copied but contains the same sequence as the new RNA molecule

50
Q

Termination sequence

A

A sequence of bases at the end of a gene that signals the RNA polymerase to stop transcribing

51
Q

Poly A tail

A

A chain of adenine nucleotides that are added to the 3’ end of the pre-mRNA molecule to protect it from the enzymes in the cytosol

52
Q

5’ cap

A

A sequence of seven Gs that is added to the start of a pre-mRNA molecule; ribosomes recognize this site and use it as the site of initial attachment

53
Q

Exon

A

A sequence of DNA or RNA that codes for part of a gene

54
Q

Intron

A

A non-coding sequence of DNA or RNA

55
Q

Spliceosome

A

An enzyme-protein complex that removes introns from the mRNA

56
Q

Small ribonucleoproteins (smRNP)

A

A protein that binds to introns and signals them for removal

57
Q

Alternative splicing

A

A process that produces different mRNAs from pre-mRNA (exons and introns), allowing more than one possible polypeptide to be made from a single gene

58
Q

Anticodon

A

The complementary sequence of base pairs on a tRNA that corresponds to a codon on an mRNA

59
Q

Aminoacylation

A

The process by which a tRNA molecule is bound to its corresponding amino acid

60
Q

aminoacyl-tRNA

A

A molecule of transfer RNA bound to its associated amino acid

61
Q

Reading frame

A

A particular system for separating a base pair sequence into readable codons

62
Q

Polysome

A

A complex that is formed when multiple ribosomes attach to the same mRNA molecule in order to facilitate rapid translation

63
Q

Insulin

A

A hormone produced in the pancreas that lowers the blood glucose level by promoting the uptake of glucose by the body cells

64
Q

Lac operon

A

A cluster of genes that contains the DNA sequences to regulate the metabolism of lactose

65
Q

Operator

A

The region in the operon that regulatory factors bind to

66
Q

Repressor protein

A

A protein that binds to the operator to repress gene transcription

67
Q

Inducer

A

A signal molecule that triggers the expression of an operon’s genes
Ex. lactose

68
Q

Corepressor

A

A signal molecule that binds to a regulatory protein to reduce the expression of an operon’s genes
Ex. tryptophan

69
Q

Point mutation

A

A change in a single nucleotide within a gene

70
Q

Substitution

A

The replacement if one base pair in a DNA sequence by another base pair

71
Q

Insertion

A

The addition of a base pair (small-scale mutation) or larger region (large-scale mutation) to a DNA sequence

72
Q

Deletion

A

The removal of a base pair (small-scale mutation) or larger coding region (large-scale mutation) form a DNA sequence

73
Q

Inversion

A

Two adjacent bases trading places (small-scale mutations) or the reversal of a sequence of DNA (large-scale mutations)

74
Q

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)

A

A difference in the DNA between individuals caused by point mutations

75
Q

Missense mutation

A

A mutation that changes a single amino acid in the coding sequence

76
Q

Nonsense mutation

A

A mutation that results in a premature stop codon

77
Q

Silent mutation

A

A mutation that doesn’t alter the resulting sequence of amino acids

78
Q

Frameshift mutation

A

A shift in the reading frame resulting in multiple missense and/or nonsense effects

79
Q

Translocation

A

The movement of entire genes or sequences of DNA from one chromosome to another

80
Q

Mutagen

A

An environmental agent that directly alters the DNA within a cell
Ex. radiation or chemicals

81
Q

Spontaneous mutation

A

A mutation that is caused by an error in DNA replication

Ex. sickle cell anemia

82
Q

Induced mutation

A

A mutation that is caused by an environmental agent

Ex. ultraviolet rays from the sun (skin cancer - radiation)

Grade 12 Bio (8 decks)

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