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Biology 3 & 4 > Nucleic acids and proteins > Flashcards

Nucleic acids and proteins Flashcards

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1
Q

Polypeptide

A

A long chain of amino
acids

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2
Q

Proteome

A

all the proteins that are
expressed by a cell or organism at
a given time

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3
Q

Enzyme

A

an organic molecule,
typically a protein, that catalyses
(speeds up) specific reactions

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4
Q

Carboxyl group

A

The functional
group on amino acid molecules
that contains a hydroxyl group
(OH) and an oxygen double bonded to a carbon atom

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5
Q

Amino group

A

The functional group
on amino acid molecules that is
made up of one nitrogen and two
hydrogens (NH2)

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6
Q

R-group

A

the variable portion of
an amino acid molecule. It can
be one of twenty variations and
determines the identity of the
amino acid

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7
Q

Amino acid overall structure

A

Central carbon (C), carboxyl group (COOH), amino group (NHH), R group (R) and hydrogen atom (H)

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8
Q

Hydrophobic

A

having a tendency
to repel and be insoluble in water

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9
Q

Hydrophilic

A

having a tendency
to be attracted to and dissolve
in water

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10
Q

Monomer

A

a molecule that
is the smallest building block
of a polymer

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11
Q

Polymer

A

a large molecule that
is made up of small, repeated
monomer subunits

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12
Q

Peptide bond

A

 the chemical bond
linking two amino acids

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13
Q

Primary structure

A

refers to the sequence of amino acids
in a polypeptide chain

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14
Q

Secondary structure

A

where the amino acid chain forms either alpha-helices, beta-pleated
sheets, or random coils due to forming hydrogen bonds between AAs of different its sections

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15
Q

Tertiary structure

A

the functional 3D shape of a polypeptide chain, formed by secondary structures further folding by interactions and bonds between AAs and R-groups.

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16
Q

Quaternary structure

A

the level of protein structure where
multiple polypeptide chains bond
together, or other non-protein (prosthetic) groups are added to form a fully functional protein. E.g. RuBisCo

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17
Q

Alpha helix

A

an organised coiled
secondary structure of proteins

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18
Q

Beta-pleated sheet

A

an organised
folded secondary structure
of proteins

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19
Q

Random coil

A

an irregular secondary structure of proteins that is neither an alpha helix nor a beta-pleated sheet. Join alpha-helices and beta-pleated sheets

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20
Q

Disulphide bond

A

a strong covalent
bond occurring between two
sulphur atoms (cysteine amino acids have these), further stabilising the protein’s 3D structure

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21
Q

Prosthetic group

A

a non-protein
group bound to a protein. For
example, a vitamin or ion

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22
Q

Amino acid

A

The monomer of proteins that join together via condensation reactions to form polypeptide chains.

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23
Q

Nucleic acid

A

the class of macromolecule that includes DNA and RNA. All nucleic acids are polymers made out of nucleotide
monomers

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24
Q

Nucleotide

A

The monomer subunit
of nucleic acids. Made up of a
nitrogen-containing base, a fivecarbon sugar molecule (ribose in
RNA and deoxyribose in DNA),
and a phosphate group

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25
Q

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

A

a double-stranded nucleic acid
chain made up of nucleotides.
DNA carries the instructions for
proteins which are required for
cell and organism survival

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26
Q

RNA (ribonucleic acid)

A

a single-stranded nucleic acid chain made up of nucleotides. Includes mRNA, rRNA, and tRNA

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27
Q

Phospodiester bond

A

a strong
covalent bond linking a five-carbon
sugar to a phosphate group

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28
Q

sugar-phosphate backbone

A

a strong covalently linked chain of
five-carbon sugar molecules and
phosphate groups in a nucleic
acid chain

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29
Q

chromosome

A

 a structure made
of protein and nucleic acids that
carries genetic information

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30
Q

gene

A

a section of DNA that
carries the code to make a protein

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31
Q

antiparallel

A

a characteristic of
DNA strands describing how
each strand runs in an opposite
direction to the other. One strand
runs in a 3’ -> 5’ direction and the
other runs in a 5’ -> 3’ direction

32
Q

double helix

A

the structure of
double-stranded DNA in the
nucleus of eukaryotic cells, where
each DNA strand wraps around a
central axis

33
Q

nuclear DNA

A

DNA that is located
in the nucleus of a cell

34
Q

messenger RNA (mRNA)

A

RNA molecules that are produced
during transcription and carry
genetic information from the
nucleus to the ribosomes

35
Q

transfer RNA (tRNA) 

A

RNA that recognises specific
codons on the mRNA strand and
adds the corresponding amino acid
to the polypeptide chain during
protein synthesis

36
Q

ribosomal RNA (rRNA)

A

RNA that is a key structural
component of ribosomes,
which assemble proteins

37
Q

transcription

A

the process
whereby a sequence of DNA is
used as a template to produce a
complementary sequence of mRNA

38
Q

translation

A

the process where an
mRNA sequence is read to produce
a corresponding amino acid
sequence to build a polypeptide

39
Q

triplet

A

the sequence of three
nucleotides in DNA coding for one
amino acid

40
Q

codon

A

the sequence of three
nucleotides in mRNA coding for
one amino acid

41
Q

start codon

A

the sequence of three
nucleotides in mRNA that signals
the start of translation

42
Q

stop codon

A

the sequence of three
nucleotides in mRNA that signals
the end of translation

43
Q

Universal

A

Nearly all living organisms use the same codons to code for specific amino acids.

44
Q

Unambiguous

A

Each codon is only capable of coding for one specific amino acid. For example, the codon UUA only codes for
the amino acid leucine.

45
Q

Degenerate

A

Each amino acid may be coded for by
multiple different codons.

46
Q

Non-overlapping

A

Each triplet or codon is read independently, without overlapping from adjacent triplets or codons.

47
Q

Promoter

A

the sequence of DNA to
which RNA polymerase binds

48
Q

RNA polymerase

A

the enzyme responsible for constructing a pre-mRNA sequence from a DNA sequence during transcription

49
Q

TATA box

A

a type of promoter region

50
Q

introns

A

non-coding regions
of DNA that do not code for
proteins. They are spliced out
during RNA processing

51
Q

exons

A

regions of DNA that code
for proteins and are not spliced out
during RNA processing

52
Q

termination sequence

A

a sequence of DNA that signals
the end of transcription

53
Q

operator

A

a short region of DNA
that interacts with repressor
proteins to alter the transcription
of an operon

54
Q

repressor protein

A

a protein
coded for by a regulatory gene
that prevents gene expression by
binding to its operator

55
Q

leader region

A

the segment of
DNA or mRNA that immediately
precedes the coding region. Also
known as the leader segment or
leader sequence

56
Q

precursor messenger RNA
(pre-mRNA) 

A

the immediate
product of transcription of a DNA
sequence. Requires modifications
before it can undergo translation

57
Q

transcription factor

A

proteins
that bind to the promoter region
and control the functioning of
RNA polymerase

58
Q

template strand 

A

 the strand
of DNA transcribed by RNA
polymerase to produce a
complementary pre-mRNA strand

59
Q

coding strand

A

the strand of
DNA not transcribed by RNA
polymerase, contains an identical
sequence to the mRNA strand
produced (except thymine is
replaced with uracil in mRNA)

60
Q

termination sequence

A

a sequence
of DNA that signals the end
of transcription

61
Q

ribosome

A

an organelle made of
rRNA and protein that is the site
of protein synthesis. Can be free
in the cytosol or attached to the
rough endoplasmic reticulum

62
Q

5’ methyl-G cap 

A

a molecule added to the 5’ end of pre-mRNA during RNA processing

63
Q

3’ poly-A tail

A

a chain of adenine
nucleotides added to the 3’ end of
pre-mRNA during RNA processing

64
Q

introns

A

non-coding regions of
DNA that do not code for proteins.
They are spliced out during RNA
processing

65
Q

splicing

A

process where introns are
cut out of a pre-mRNA molecule,
and exons are joined together

66
Q

exons

A

regions of DNA that code for proteins and are not spliced out during RNA processing

67
Q

spliceosome

A

the enzyme that
removes introns from the premRNA molecule and joins exons
together during RNA processing

68
Q

alternative splicing

A

the process where different exons may be spliced, resulting in a single gene producing multiple different mRNA strands

69
Q

codon

A

the sequence of three
nucleotides in mRNA coding for
one amino acid

70
Q

start codon

A

the sequence of three
nucleotides in mRNA that signals
the start of translation

71
Q

anticodon

A

the sequence of three
nucleotides on a tRNA molecule
that recognises a specific sequence
of three nucleotides (codon) on an
mRNA strand

72
Q

peptide bond

A

the chemical bond
linking two amino acids

73
Q

condensation reaction

A

a reaction where two monomers join to form a larger molecule, producing water as a by-product

74
Q

stop codon

A

the sequence of three
nucleotides in mRNA that signals
the end of translation

75
Q
A

Biology 3 & 4 (10 decks)

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