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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
Nucleosome
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
26
Solenoid
A group of six nucleosomes
27
Telomere
A repeating sequence of DNA at the end of a chromosome that protects coding regions from being lost during replication
28
Supercoiling
The continuous twisting of prokaryotic DNA that reduces the volume of the DNA
29
Cell senescence
The period in a cell's lifespan when it loses the ability to divide and grow; often referred to as cell aging
30
Hayflick limit
The total number of times that a normal cell can divide
31
Telomerase
An enzyme that adds new telomere sequences to the ends of chromosomes
32
One gene-one enzyme hypothesis
The hypothesis, proposed by Beadle and Tatum, that each gene is unique and codes for the synthesis of a single enzyme
33
One gene-one polypeptide hypothesis
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
Central dogma
The fundamental principle of molecular genetics, which states that genetic information flows from DNA to RNA to proteins
35
Transcription
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
Translation
Mechanism by which the information coded in the nucleic acids of RNA is copied into the amino acids of proteins
37
Messenger RNA (mRNA)
The end product of the transcription of a gene; mRNA is translated by ribosomes into a protein
38
Transfer RNA (tRNA)
A carrier molecule that binds to a specific amino acid and adds the amino acid to the growing polypeptide chain
39
Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
An RNA molecule within the ribosome that bonds the correct amino acid to the polypeptide chain
40
RNA polymerase
An enzyme that reads a DNA strand and creates a complementary strand of RNA
41
Template strand
The DNA strand that is copied into an mRNA molecule during gene transcription
42
Precursor mRNA (pre-mRNA)
The initial RNA transcription product
43
Genetic code
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
Codon
A group of three base pairs that code for an individual amino acid
45
Start codon (initiator codon)
The codon that signals the start of a polypeptide chain and initiates translation Ex. AUG
46
Stop codon
A codon that signals the end of a polypeptide chain and causes the ribosome to terminate translation Ex. UAA, UAG, UGA
47
Promotor
A nucleotide sequence that lies just before a gene and allows for the binding of RNA polymerase
48
TATA box
A region of the promoter that enables the binding of RNA polymerase
49
Coding strand
The DNA strand that is not being copied but contains the same sequence as the new RNA molecule
50
Termination sequence
A sequence of bases at the end of a gene that signals the RNA polymerase to stop transcribing
51
Poly A tail
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
5’ cap
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
Exon
A sequence of DNA or RNA that codes for part of a gene
54
Intron
A non-coding sequence of DNA or RNA
55
Spliceosome
An enzyme-protein complex that removes introns from the mRNA
56
Small ribonucleoproteins (smRNP)
A protein that binds to introns and signals them for removal
57
Alternative splicing
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
Anticodon
The complementary sequence of base pairs on a tRNA that corresponds to a codon on an mRNA
59
Aminoacylation
The process by which a tRNA molecule is bound to its corresponding amino acid
60
aminoacyl-tRNA
A molecule of transfer RNA bound to its associated amino acid
61
Reading frame
A particular system for separating a base pair sequence into readable codons
62
Polysome
A complex that is formed when multiple ribosomes attach to the same mRNA molecule in order to facilitate rapid translation
63
Insulin
A hormone produced in the pancreas that lowers the blood glucose level by promoting the uptake of glucose by the body cells
64
Lac operon
A cluster of genes that contains the DNA sequences to regulate the metabolism of lactose
65
Operator
The region in the operon that regulatory factors bind to
66
Repressor protein
A protein that binds to the operator to repress gene transcription
67
Inducer
A signal molecule that triggers the expression of an operon’s genes Ex. lactose
68
Corepressor
A signal molecule that binds to a regulatory protein to reduce the expression of an operon’s genes Ex. tryptophan
69
Point mutation
A change in a single nucleotide within a gene
70
Substitution
The replacement if one base pair in a DNA sequence by another base pair
71
Insertion
The addition of a base pair (small-scale mutation) or larger region (large-scale mutation) to a DNA sequence
72
Deletion
The removal of a base pair (small-scale mutation) or larger coding region (large-scale mutation) form a DNA sequence
73
Inversion
Two adjacent bases trading places (small-scale mutations) or the reversal of a sequence of DNA (large-scale mutations)
74
Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)
A difference in the DNA between individuals caused by point mutations
75
Missense mutation
A mutation that changes a single amino acid in the coding sequence
76
Nonsense mutation
A mutation that results in a premature stop codon
77
Silent mutation
A mutation that doesn’t alter the resulting sequence of amino acids
78
Frameshift mutation
A shift in the reading frame resulting in multiple missense and/or nonsense effects
79
Translocation
The movement of entire genes or sequences of DNA from one chromosome to another
80
Mutagen
An environmental agent that directly alters the DNA within a cell Ex. radiation or chemicals
81
Spontaneous mutation
A mutation that is caused by an error in DNA replication | Ex. sickle cell anemia
82
Induced mutation
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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