Unit 7 Vocab: Protein Synthesis Flashcards
Amino Acid
small molecules that are the building blocks of proteins
Anticodon
a triplet of nucleotide bases in transfer RNA that identifies the amino acid carried and binds to a complementary codon in messenger RNA during protein synthesis at a ribosome
Central Dogma
the process by which the instructions in DNA are converted into a functional product
Codon
a sequence of 3 consecutive nucleotides that codes for a specific amino acid
Frameshift mutation
An insertion or deletion involving a number of base pairs that is not a multiple of three, which consequently disrupts the triplet reading frame of a DNA sequence
Gene Expression
the phenotypic manifestation of a gene or genes by the processes of genetic transcription and genetic translation.
Messenger RNA (mRNA)
a single-stranded RNA molecule that is complementary to one of the DNA strands of a gene.
Peptide Bond
a covalent bond formed by joining the carboxyl group of one amino acid to the amino group of another
Point/Substitution Mutation
mutations that describe a change in single nucleotide of DNA
Polypeptide chain/Protein
a single linear chain of many amino acids (any length), held together by amide bonds.
Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
molecule in cells that forms part of the protein-synthesizing organelle known as a ribosome and that is exported to the cytoplasm to help translate the information in messenger RNA (mRNA) into protein
Transcription
is the process by which the information in a strand of DNA is copied into a new molecule of messenger RNA (mRNA)
Transfer RNA (tRNA)
a type of RNA molecule that helps decode a messenger RNA (mRNA) sequence into a protein.
Translation
is the process of translating the sequence of a messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule to a sequence of amino acids during protein synthesis.
