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biology > nucleic acids and protein synthesis > Flashcards

nucleic acids and protein synthesis Flashcards

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1
Q

what is the shape of DNA?

A

double helix - spiral staircase or twisted ladder

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2
Q

Who is given credit for understanding the shape of DNA?

A

James Watson and Francis Crick

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3
Q

What prize did Watson and Crick receive for understanding the structure of DNA? Who shared in the prize?

A

Nobel Prize - Maurice Wilkins shared in the prize

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4
Q

Why did Rosalind Franklin not share the Nobel Prize with Watson, Crick, and Wilkins?

A

can not earn the prize posthumously - prize is to further research

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5
Q

Who experimented with mice and pneumococcus bacteria, and what was discovered?

A

Frederick Griffith discovered bacterial transformation - DNA from one bacterium can enter another bacterium and function - This turned harmless rough bacteria into harmful smooth bacteria

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6
Q

Who extended Griffith’s research to find out what the transforming chemical was, and what did they do?

A

Avery, Macleod, and McCarty used enzymes to destroy various cellular chemicals. When DNA was destroyed, the transformation didn’t occur, so they determined that DNA was the transforming chemical.

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7
Q

Who discovered base pairing?

A

Erwin Chargaff

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8
Q

What bases pair together in DNA?

A

adenine pairs with thymine

guanine pairs with cytosine

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9
Q

What holds DNA base pairs together, and what is significant about this type of bond?

A

hydrogen bonds - weak bonds - can easily be unzipped for DNA to work

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10
Q

How many hydrogen bonds are found between A-T?

How many hydrogen bonds are found between G-C?

A

A-T is held together by 2 hydrogen bonds.

G-C is held together by 3 hydrogen bonds.

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11
Q

What monomers are the building blocks of nucleic acids?

A

nucleotides

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12
Q

What polymer is made of nucleotides?

A

polynucleotides

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13
Q

Who experimented with bacteriophages and radioactive markers to verify that DNA is the transforming chemical?

A

Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase

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14
Q

What did the Hershey and Chase mark the bacteriophages with, and why?

A

radioactive phosphorus marked the DNA
radioactive sulfur marked the proteins
They wanted to know if bacteriophages injected DNA or protein into their host.

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15
Q

What is a bacteriophage?

A

a virus that infects bacteria

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16
Q

What was the result of the Hershey Chase experiments?

A

They verified that DNA is the transforming material, the genetic code.

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17
Q

What are the three parts of a nucleotide?

A
  1. sugar
  2. phosphate
  3. nitrogen base
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18
Q

What sugar is in DNA?

What sugar is in RNA?

A

DNA - deoxyribose

RNA -ribose

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19
Q

What bases are in DNA?

What bases are in RNA?

A

DNA - A, T, G, C

RNA - A, U, G, C

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20
Q

What part of DNA is the code portion?

A

nitrogen base pairs - rungs of DNA ladder

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21
Q

What part of DNA is the supporting backbone?

A

alternating sugars and phosphates - sides of ladder

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22
Q

What kind of bond holds the sugars and phosphates together?

A

covalent bond

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23
Q

Who made X-ray images of DNA and saw that it was a helix?

A

Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins

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24
Q

Why do we say the DNA strands are antiparallel?

A

One end starts with a phosphate - 5’

One end starts with a sugar - 3’

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25
Q

What is the significance of the 5’ and 3’ ends of DNA?

A

It always is copied from 5’ to 3’.

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26
Q

What is the term for DNA making an exact copy of itself?

A

replication

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27
Q

Why is DNA replication necessary?

A

It happens before cell division so each daughter cell will have all the information by getting a complete set of DNA

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28
Q

What are the 4 steps in DNA replication?

A
  1. DNA unwinds
  2. DNA unzips
  3. new bases are brought in
  4. The new strands are proofread for mutations
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29
Q

What chemicals cause replication?

A

enzymes

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30
Q

What enzyme unzips DNA?

A

helicase

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31
Q

What enzyme builds the new DNA strand?

A

DNA polymerase

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32
Q

Why is proofreading necessary?

A

to catch and fix mutations so that the new cell has the proper instructions

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33
Q

Why do we call DNA replication semiconservative?

A

an old strand serves as a template for a new strand. We don’t waste the old strand.

34
Q

What are the protective caps on the chromosome ends? What is their significance?

A

telomeres - related to aging as they wear down

35
Q

What is the difference between prokaryote replication and eukaryote replication?

A

prokaryotes have circular DNA and replicates from one point outwards in each direction until it meets up - 2 replication forks

eukaryotes have linear DNA and many replication forks to complete the entire strand

36
Q

Give 5 ways DNA and RNA are different.

A
  1. different sugars - ribose in RNA and deoxyribose in DNA
  2. different bases - T in DNA and U in RNA
  3. DNA is the code, RNA is the worker that reads the code and builds protein
  4. DNA has 2 strands while RNA has 1 strand
  5. DNA stays in the nucleus while RNA leaves
  6. DNA has 1 type and RNA has 3 forms
  7. DNA is longer while RNA is in smaller pieces
37
Q

What are the three types of RNA, and what is the shape and function of each?

A
  1. messenger RNA - linear - reads DNA and takes message to ribosomes
  2. transfer RNA - hairpin or key - brings amino acids to ribosome
  3. ribosomal RNA - globular - builds ribosomes
38
Q

What is the name of the process where mRNA reads DNA?

A

transcription

39
Q

Why is transcription necessary, and where does it happen?

A

to take the code to the ribosomes so proteins can be made - happens in nucleus

40
Q

What enzyme builds the RNA?

A

RNA polymerase

41
Q

What is the term for protein synthesis?

A

translation

42
Q

Where does translation occur?

A

ribosomes

43
Q

What are the building blocks of proteins?

A

amino acids

44
Q

How many amino acids are in the human body?

A

20

45
Q

Why is the code called a triplet code?

A

It works 3 bases at a time

46
Q

What are three bases on DNA or mRNA called?

A

codons

47
Q

What are three bases on tRNA called?

A

anticodon

48
Q

How many codons are there, and what is the significance of having more codons than amino acids?

A

64 codons - some codons code for the same amino acids

49
Q

What amino acid is always the start of a polypeptide chain?

A

methionine

50
Q

How does the RNA know when to stop reading the code? How many are there?

A

stop codons - 3

51
Q

What is a chain of amino acids?

A

polypeptide

52
Q

What do we say is happening when a protein is being made from a gene?

A

gene expression

53
Q

What is a mistake in the DNA called?

A

mutation

54
Q

What is the general term for factors that cause mutations?

A

mutagens

55
Q

Give 3 examples of mutagens.

A
  1. radiation
  2. heat
  3. cigarette tar
  4. asbestos
56
Q

What do we call a mutation that affects 1 or 2 bases?

A

point mutation

57
Q

What do we call a deletion or addition mutation that affects the entire code from that point?

A

frameshift

58
Q

Which is more dangerous to an organism, a mutation in a body (somatic) cell, or a mutation in a gamete (sex cell)? Why

A

gametes - every cell forms from a mistake

59
Q

Are mutations always bad?

A

no - most have no effect, and some are actually an advantage

60
Q

What happens when a piece of DNA is missing?

A

genetic information is lost

61
Q

What stores information in a cell?

A

nucleic acids - DNA and RNA

62
Q

If you have 15% adenine in DNA, what would be the percent thymine in the same DNA?

A

15%

63
Q

If you have 15% ademine in DNA, what would be the percent guanine in the same DNA?

A

35%

64
Q

Why don’t ademines pair with guanines?

A

they are both purines - both long, and the rungs would be irregular size

65
Q

What are purines? What are they like?

A

A and G - double rings

66
Q

What are pyrimidines? What are they like?

A

T and C - single rings

67
Q

What should the strands of DNA be like after replication?

A

identical

68
Q

What is the other half of DNA if one half is ACT GGA

A

TGA CCT

69
Q

What is RNA if it reads the following DNA segment: ATT GCA

A

UAA CGU

70
Q

Use the genetic code to translate the following mRNA segment: UAC CGU

A

tyrosine - arginine

71
Q

What are tyrosine and arginine?

A

amino acids

72
Q

genes contain instructions for assembling what?

A

proteins

73
Q

What is the central dogma of biology?

A

DNA - RNA - protein

74
Q

What do we call the DNA in a cell that is not dividing?

What do we call the DNA in a cell that is dividing?

A

chromatin - not dividing

chromosomes - dividing

75
Q

other than the nucleus of eukaryotes, where is some DNA found, and what is unusual about this DNA?

A

mitochondria - only passed through maternal side

76
Q

What is the term for the entire set of DNA of an organism?

A

genome

77
Q

How many bases are in the entire human genome?

A

3 billion bases

78
Q

Where do we get our DNA? What process divides our DNA in half to make gametes (sex cells)

A

half from mom and half from dad - meiosis

79
Q

Who originally discovered DNA? When?

A

Frederich Miecher - 1800s

80
Q

Why did we not believe DNA could be the code? What did we believe would be the code?

A

too simple - We thought proteins would be the code.

81
Q

How are cells specialized?

A

They express different genes and produce different proteins. RBCs make hemoglobin and pancreas cells produce insulin.

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