Nucleic acids and proteins Flashcards
amino acid
monomer of proteins
degenerate code
a single amino acid can be coded for by more than one codon
DNA
a double-stranded nucleic acid chain made up of nucleotides. DNA carries the instructions for proteins which are required for cell and organism survival
hydrolysis
a chemical reaction in which water is used to break down the chemical bonds of a substance
intron
non-coding regions of DNA that do not code for proteins. They are spliced out during RNA processing
monomer
a molecule that is the smallest building block of a polymer
nucleic acid
the class of macromolecule that includes DNA and RNA. All nucleic acids are polymers made out of nucleotide monomers
nucleotide
the monomer subunit of nucleic acids. Made up of a nitrogen-containing base, a five-carbon sugar molecule (ribose in RNA and deoxyribose in DNA), and a phosphate group
peptide bond
the chemical bond linking two amino acids
polymerase
an enzyme that synthesises a polymer from monomers, such as forming a DNA strand from nucleic acids
primary structure
the first level of protein structure, which refers to the sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain
protein
proteome
a biomacromolecule made of amino acid chains folded into a 3D shape
quaternary structure
the level of protein structure where multiple polypeptide chains bond together, or other nonprotein groups are added to form a fully functional protein
ribonucleic acid
a single-stranded nucleic acid chain made up of nucleotides. Includes mRNA, rRNA, and tRNA
