Term
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Definition
Informational Macromolecules (or Polymers)
a nucleic acid strand is a polymer of nucleotides (monomers) |
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Term
| What is the function of nucleic acids? |
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Definition
STORE and TRANSMIT genetic (hereditary) information
(inheritance is based on the double helix of DNA) |
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Term
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Definition
| consist of regions of DNA, a polymer of nucleic acids |
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Term
| What is programmed by a gene? |
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Definition
| the sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide |
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Term
| How many types of nucleic acids are there? |
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Definition
| Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) and Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) |
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Term
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Definition
| provide direction for it's own replication and direct RNA synthesis and (through RNA) control protein synthesis |
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Term
| Where do organism inherit their DNA? |
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Definition
from their PARENTS
(each DNA molecule is very long and usually consists of hundreds to thousands of genes) |
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Term
| DNA has all the information for Cell's activities, but who carries them out? |
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Definition
| PROTEINS are responsible for carrying out instructions contained by DNA |
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Term
| What is each gene along a DNA molecule's job? |
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Definition
| Directs the synthesis of a specific type of MESSENGER RNA molecule (mRNA) |
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Term
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Definition
| Interact with the protein-synthesizing machinery to direct the ordering of amino acids in a polypeptide |
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Term
| What is the flow of genetic information? |
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Definition
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Term
| Where does protein synthesis occur? |
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Definition
| In cellular structures called RIBOSOMES |
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Term
| In eukaryotes, where is DNA located? |
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Definition
| In the nucleus, but most ribosomes are in the cytoplasm with mRNA as an intermediary |
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Term
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Definition
nucleic acids that are polymers of monomers
(a nucleic acid strand is a polymer of nucleotides) |
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Term
| What are the 3 parts of nucleotides? |
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Definition
1. Nitrogenous Base
2. Pentose Sugar
3. Phosphate Group |
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Term
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Definition
rings of carbon and nitrogen that come in 2 TYPES:
1. Purines
2. Pyrimidines |
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Term
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Definition
| Have a single six-membered ring joined to a five-membered ring |
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Term
| What are the 3 different pyrimidines? |
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Definition
1. Cytosine (C)
2. Thymine (T)
3. Uracil (U)
(these all differ in atoms attached to the ring) |
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Term
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Definition
1. Adenine (A)
2. Guanine (G) |
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Term
| The pentose joined to the nitrogen base in RNA and DNA is what? |
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Definition
in RNA it is RIBOSE and in DNA it is DEOXYRIBOSE
(the only difference between the 2 sugars is the lack of an oxygen atom on carbon 2 in deoxyribose) |
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Term
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Definition
| the combination of a pentose and a nitrogenous base |
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Term
| What is created with the addition of phosphate group? |
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Definition
| a nucleoside monophosphate or NUCLEOTIDE |
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Term
| How are polynucleotides synthesized? |
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Definition
By connecting the sugars of one nucleotideto the phosphate of the next with a phosphodiester link
(this creates a repeating backbone of sugar-phosphate units with the nitrogen bases as appendages) |
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Term
| What is the polarity of each DNA strand? |
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Definition
5' --> 3'
there is a phosphate at the 5'-end and a hydroxyl at the 3'-end |
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Term
| How is the "backbone" for bases created? |
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Definition
the phosphate group of one nucleotide is attached to the sugar of the next nucleotide in line
(the result is the "backbone" with alternating phosphates and sugars from which the bases project) |
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Term
FACTS:
1. the sequence of nitrogen bases along a DNA or mRNA polymer is unique for each gene
2. Genes are normally hundreds to thousands of nucleotides long
---> |
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Definition
| 3. The number of possible combinations of the four DNA bases is limitless |
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Term
| Primary Structure of a Protein |
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Definition
| The linear order of bases in a gene specifies the order of amino acids...the primary structure also determines 3-D conformation and function |
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Term
| An RNA molecule is a _____ chain. |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
DNA molecules have 2 plynucleotide strands that spiral around and imaginary axis that form the double helix
(the double helix was first proposed as the structure of DNA in 1953 by James Watson and Francis Crick) |
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Term
| What is located on the outside of the helix? |
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Definition
| the sugar-phosphate backbones of the 2 nucleotides |
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Term
| Pairs of ____, one from each strand, connect the ______ with hydrogen bonds. |
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Definition
| nitrogenous bases, polynucleotide chains |
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Term
| Because of their shapes, only some bases are compatible with each other. What bases are always paired together? |
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Definition
Adenine (A) pairs with Thymine (T) and Guanine (G) pairs with Cytosine (C)
(because of these rules, if we know he sequence of bases of one strand, we know the sequence of the opposite strand...the 2 strands are COMPLEMENTARY) |
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Term
| What happens in the preparation for cell division? |
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Definition
Each of the strands serve as a template to order nucleotides into a new complementary strand which results in 2 identical copies of the original double-stranded DNA molecule
(copies are distributed to the daughter cells) |
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