Nucleic Acid Flashcards
How many chromosomes are there in a normal cell?
46 (23 pairs)
Name 2 cells that do not have the usual number of chromosomes
Sex cells
Red blood cells
What are chromosomes made from ?
DNA found in the nucleus
What is a histone?
Protein + DNA
found in chromosomes
Describe nuclear division
nucleus divides ( mitosis and meiosis)
Describe Cytokinesis
Follows nuclear division and is the process by which the whole cell divides
What is the process by which the whole cell divides?
Cytokinesis
Describe the three components of a individual nucleotide
Phosphate group
Pentose sugar
Nitrogen-containing organic base
Name the 5 organic bases
Adenine Thymine Cytosine Guanine Uracil
How is a mononucleotide formed?
By multiple condensation reactions
Name the bond between the phosphate group and pentose sugar on separate nucleotides
phosphodiester bond
What is a phosphodiester bond ?
bond between the phosphate group and pentose sugar on separate nucleotides
What does RNA stand for ?
Ribonucleic acid
What is the structure of RNA?
Single short polynucleotide chain
pentose sugar = ribose sugar
Adenine Uracil Cytosine Guanine
List 3 examples of RNA
One is involved in protein synthesis
One transfers genetic material from DNA to the ribosomes
Ribosomes are made up of proteins and RNA
What is transcription?
a particular segment of DNA is copied into RNA (especially mRNA) by the enzyme RNA polymerase
What is translation ?
ribosomes in the cytoplasm or ER synthesize proteins
What is the structure of DNA?
Deoxyribose sugar
Adenine Thymine Cytosine Guanine
2 polynucleotide molecules arranged like a ladder } double helix
Base pairs are _____
complementary
In what year was the DNA of DNA discovered and by whom?
1953
James Watson and Francis Crick
Rosalind Franklin
Adenine binds with ______
Thymine
Thymine binds with _______
Adenine
Cytosine binds with _______
Guanine
Guanine binds with _______
Cytosine
What bonds form between base pairs?
Hydrogen
Why is DNA stable?
Phosphodiester backbone protects organic baes inside helix from chemical reactions
H-Bonds between organic base pairs ( CG> AT )
‘Base stacking’= interactive forces
Name the function of DNA
It is the hereditary material responsible for passing genetic information from cell to cell and generation to generation.
How is DNA adapted to carry out its function?
Very stable structure that only rarely mutates when passing from generation to generation
Hydrogen bonds between base pairs can easily be separated during DNA replication and protein synthesis
Extremely large molecule so it carries a lot of information
base pairs within helical cylinder are protected from corruption
base paring = DNA can replicate and transfer information as mRNA
Name the backbone
deoxyribose-phosphate
The 2 strands of DNA are ___
anti-parallel
5’ =
3’ =
5 prime = phosphate group
3 prime = hydroxyl group
Nucleic acid can only be synthesised in what direction ?
5-3 direction
Compare DNA and RNA for their differences
DNA double-stranded/double helix and mRNA single-stranded; DNA (very) long and RNA short; Thymine/T in DNA and uracil/U in RNA; Deoxyribose in DNA and ribose in RNA; DNA has base pairing and mRNA doesn’t/ DNA has hydrogen bonding and mRNA doesn’t; DNA has introns/non-coding sequences and mRNA doesn’t
