Unit 8.3 Flashcards
What is transcription?
the process of copying a segment of DNA into RNA
What enzyme is responsible for transcription?
RNA polymerase
What is central dogma?
genetic information flows from DNA, to RNA, to proteins
How do base pairing rules differ between DNA and RNA?
DNA: A to T, T to A, C to G, G to C
RNA: A to U, T to A, C to G, G to C
What does the promoter do?
it is the starting point of the RNA gene (includes the TATA box)
What does the enhancer / silencer do?
it is an additional binding site
What do the exons do?
they are the parts of the DNA sequence that are read and coded into RNA
What do introns do?
they do not affect the gene’s code and are cut out
What happens during the initiation stage?
RNA polymerase binds to the promoter region of DNA, unwinds the double helix, and begins synthesizing RNA at the start site.
What happens during the elongation stage?
RNA polymerase moves along the DNA template strand, adding complementary RNA nucleotides to form a growing mRNA strand. Introns and cut out in this stage.
What happens during the termination stage?
RNA polymerase reaches a terminator sequence, causing the RNA strand to detach and transcription to end.
