Part One (DNA and Protein Synthesis) Flashcards
What is the structure of DNA?
Double helix (2 strands)
What is the function of DNA?
The instructions to make every protein in living organisms
Explain protein synthesis.
Order of DNA determines the order of RNA, which then determines the amino acid, which then builds the protein.
Given the following DNA strand, write what the mRNA and Amino Acids would be:
GTA AGC GCA
CAU UCG CGU
His Ser Arg
What takes place in mRNA instead of T?
U
What is a mutation?
Mutations are changes in the DNA sequence (occur through errors in DNA copying or as a result of agents that damage DNA)
How can a mutation be beneficial?
It can protect you from other diseases. The mutation that causes sickle cell disease protects you from Malaria.
Explain what happens with sickle cell disease? Include the cause and effect.
The cause of sickle cell disease is a mutation in the DNA, which changes the mRNA, Amino Acid, all the way to the structure of the hemoglobin protein. Changing the structure of the hemoglobin protein makes the normal-shaped cell turn into a sickle-shaped cell as the protein’s cell shape has been mutated. This causes the blood to clot up in the bloodstream easily, making it harder for hemoglobin (carrier of oxygen to lungs) to be carried to our lungs. This soon causes pain trouble breathing, silent strokes, fatigue, jaundice (liver failure causing yellowish eyes or possibly more), etc.
What is hemoglobin? What is its function?
Hemoglobin is a protein that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of our body.
What is an enzyme? What does it do?
An enzyme is protein that speeds up chemical reactions
Why are proteins important?
Proteins are important because they help molecules move into and out of the cells, they provide support to the extra cellular space of connective tissues, they create muscle contractions, form antibodies, function as chemical messenger molecules, and some can function as enzymes, controlling metabolism.
Name all 6 proteins.
All six proteins are Hemoglobin, Collagen, Actin/myosin, IgA, Insulin, and Amylase.
Explain how the structural protein affects its function.
The structure of protein, which are amino acids, affects the function of the protein because depending on what amino acid applies, that determines the shape of the protein, which affects how that protein functions.
What are Amino Acids?
The building blocks of protein
