Unit #1 DNA, RNA and Protein Synthesis Flashcards
What does DNA stand for?
Deoxyribonucleic acid
What are the 2 reasons why DNA is unique?
- It is comprised of nitrogenous bases, deoxyribose sugar, and phosphate backbone.
- Every DNA is unique to each person
What are the building blocks (monomers) of DNA?
the nucleoties
What are the 3 parts of a nucleotide?
nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar, and phosphate.
What are the 4 nitrogen bases present in DNA?
adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G).
What are purines? How many rings do they have?
adenine and guanine, two-ringed
What are pyrimidines? How many rings do they have?
cytosine and thymine, one ringed
The double helix structure of DNA was discovered by 4 scientists - what are their names and what was the year?
Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, Maurice Wilkins. 1953.
What did Erwin Chargaff discover?
DNA, the ratios of adenine (A) to thymine (T) and guanine (G) to cytosine (C) are equal
Name the complementary strands of a DNA molecule.
Adenine (A) is always paired with Thymine (T), and Cytosine (C) is always paired with Guanine (G)
What enzyme “unzips” the 2 strands of DNA in DNA replication?
DNA Helicase
What does DNA polymerase do?
Puts the DNA back together.
If one strand of DNA if ATT CCG, what is the other complementary strand of DNA?
TAA GGC
What are the 3 types of RNA? What does each type do?
messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and ribosomal RNA (rRNA).
What is transcription? Where does it occur in the cell (nucleus or cytoplasm)?
takes place in the cytoplasm in prokaryotes and in nucleus in eukaryotes. It uses DNA as a template to make an RNA (mRNA) molecule. During transcription, a strand of mRNA is made that is complementary to a strand of DNA.
