Patient Semester 1 Flashcards
What is the diameter of a prokaryotic cell?
1-5um
What is the diameter of a eukaryotic cell?
10-100um
What is the thickness of a membrane?
6-10nm
Define amphipathic.
Both hydrophilic and hydrophobic
What is the glycocalyx?
The layer of carbohydrate on a cell membrane
What three methods are used to move small molecules?
Simple diffusion
Facilitated diffusion
Active transport
What is the diameter of an LDL molecule?
22nm
What is the diameter of an HDL molecule?
7-12nm
By what method are large molecules transported across membranes?
Vesiculation
What are the three types of lipid?
Simple- made up of glycerol and fatty acids
Complex- other groups such as sugars or phosphates attached
Sterols- heterocyclic
What is the width of a DNA alpha helix?
2nm
What is the length of one turn in a DNA alpha helix?
3-4nm
10 base pairs
In what direction are nucleic acids written?
5’ to 3’
What does antiparallel mean?
Moving in opposite directions
At what rate does DNA replication occur?
Occurs at approximately 1000 bases per second
What do topoisomerases do?
Type I- cuts one DNA strand, relaxation occurs, the strand is then reattached
Type II- cute both DNA strands, passes another unbroken helix through it and then rejoins the strands
What is the leading strand?
It is the strand of DNA that is made continuously, moving toward the 3’ end and the replication fork
What is the lagging strand?
The strand of DNA which is made in short fragments which are subsequently joined together
What primes DNA synthesis?
A short strand of RNA with a free 3’OH group produced by primase
When complete, what enzyme removes the RNA primer?
DNA polymerase I
What antibiotics inhibit bacterial DNA gyrases and topoisomerase IV?
Fluoroquinolones
Which antibiotic preferentially inhibits bacterial RNA polymerase?
Rifampicin
Which viruses make DNA from RNA? Using what enzyme?
HIV and HSV using reverse transcriptase
What is removed from pre mRNA using spliceosomes?
Introns
What is mRNA used for?
Sends a nucleotide message from the nucleus to the ribosomes
What is tRNA used for?
Transferring amino acids to polypeptides during protein synthesis
What is rRNA used for?
It forms the major components of the ribosomal subunits
What type of ribosomes are present in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?
Prokaryotic- 70S (50s + 30S)
Eukaryotic- 80S (60s + 40s)
In what direction does the coding strand run?
5’ to 3’
In what direction does the template strand run?
3’ to 5’
What does RNA polymerase do?
Unwinds DNA helices
What stops RNA polymerase
When it reaches a downstream termination sequence
What is a sequence of 3 bases known as?
A codon
How many start and stop codons are there?
1 start codon and 3 stop codons
What is the genetic code?
The relationship between the sequence of bases on mRNA and sequence of amino acids in a protein
What does degenerate mean?
A single amino acid may have more than one codon
Where does protein synthesis occur?
The ribosomes
What are ribozymes?
Catalytic RNA
How does a ribosomes form in initiation?
The small subunit complexes with initiation factors
Base pairing occurs between rRNA and a special sequence on mRNA
Start codon is positioned in the P site
The large subunit joins, GTP is hydrolysed and initiation factors leave the ribosome
How many sites within a ribosome are occupied at any one time?
Only two
What is the A site of a ribosome?
Aminoacyl acceptor site (point of entry)
What is the P site of a ribosome?
Peptidyl site (point of bond formation)
What is the E site of a ribosome?
The exit site
What is translocation?
Peptide chain enters the P site of the ribosome, unloaded tRNA moves to the E site, leaving the A site empty
How does termination occur?
Synthesis occurs until a stop codon is reached
A release factor binds in the A site
The polypeptide in the P site is hydrolysed from its tRNA and leaves the ribosome
Which antibiotics preferentially bind to prokaryotic ribosomal RNAs and proteins?
Tetracycline
Chloramphenicol
Erythromycin
Define proteomics.
The large scale study of proteins, in particular their structure, function and modifications
What is lipidation?
Method of localising proteins in membranes by increasing its hydrophobicity