Unit 2: Translation Flashcards
1
Q
ribosomes (2)
A
- complex structure of RNA and protein, bound to the cytosolic face of the rough ER in the cytoplasm, on which proteins are synthesized
- consist of a small subunit and a large subunit, each composed of 1-3 types of ribosomal RNA and 20-50 types of ribosomal protein
2
Q
Compare the sizes of eukaryotic and prokaryotic ribosomes
A
- eukaryotic ribosomes are larges than prokaryotic ribosomes
3
Q
How many binding sites are on the large subunit of a ribosome?
A
- 3 binding sites: A site, P site, and E site
4
Q
What is the major role of ribosomes? (2)
A
- when the mRNA is placed on the ribosome, to ensure that the sequence in the mRNA coding for amino acids is read in successive, non-overlapping groups of 3 nucleotides
- establishing the correct reading frame for the codons
5
Q
codon (2)
A
- group of 3 adjacent nucleotides in RNA that specifies an amino acid in a protein that terminates polypeptide synthesis
- each codon in the mRNA codes for a single amino acid in the polypeptide chain
6
Q
reading frames
A
- following a start codon, a consecutive sequence of codons for amino acids
7
Q
anticodon
A
- the sequence of 3 nucleotides in a tRNA molecule that base pairs with the corresponding codon in an mRNA molecule
8
Q
aminoacyl tRNA synthetases (4)
A
- an enzyme that very accurately attaches a specific amino acid to a specific tRNA molecule
- directly responsible for actually translating the codon sequence in a nucleic acid to a specific amino acid in a polypeptide chain
- most organisms have 1 enzyme for each amino acid
- enzyme binds to multiple sites on any tRNA that has an anticodon corresponding to the amino acid and tRNA
9
Q
charged tRNA and uncharged tRNA
A
- charged: a tRNA with its amino acid attached
- uncharged: tRNA with no amino acid attached
10
Q
What does the specificity of DNA-RNA and codon-anticodon interactions result from?
A
- base pairing
11
Q
genetic code
A
- correspondence between codons and amino acids, in which 20 amino acids are specified by 64 codons
12
Q
initiation codon (4)
A
- codon which translation begins
- coded by AUG, which specifies Met
- polypeptide is synthesized from the amino end to the carboxyl end: Met forms the amino end of any polypeptide being synthesized
- in many cases, the Met is cleaved off by an enzyme after synthesis is complete
13
Q
What does the position of the initiator AUG codon establish?
A
- the reading frame that determines how the downstream codons are to be read
14
Q
stop codon
A
- UAA, UAG, or UGA where the polypeptide is finished and is released into the cytosol
15
Q
many amino acids are specified by more than one codon, what does this say about the genetic code?
A
- it is universal (because all known organisms use the same code) redundant and degenerate (because more than one codon can code for the same amino acid)