Term
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Definition
| copies the information of a DNA sequence (the gene) into corresponding info. in an RNA sequence |
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| converts this RNA sequence into the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide |
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| Frederick Griffith experiment |
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| demonstrated that something in virulent S strain could transform non-violent R strain bacteria into a lethal form, even when the S strain had been killed by high temperatures |
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| Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase experiment |
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Definition
| confirming that DNA was the genetic material, which had first been in the 1944 Avery-MacLeod-McCarty experiment. While DNA had been well known to biologists since 1869, most assumed at the time that proteins carried the infor. for inheritance |
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| The study of crystal structures using x-ray diffraction techniques |
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| James Watson and Francis Crick |
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| discovered DNA was in the form of a double helix |
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Definition
| the two chains in DNA run in opposite directions. In a double helix, the 5' end of one strand is paired with the 3' end of the other strand, and vice versa. |
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| Complementary Base Pairing |
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Definition
| Every base pair consists of one purine (A or G) and one Pyrimidine (T or C) |
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Definition
| DNA is replicated thru. the interaction of the template DNA with a huge protein complex |
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| a Y-shaped region in a chromosome that serves as the growing site for DNA replication |
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| Polymerase Chain Reaction |
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Definition
| a technique widely used in molecular biology. It derives its name from one of its key components, a DNA polymerase used to amplify a piece of DNA by in vitro enzymatic replication. This sets in motion a chain reaction in which the DNA template is exponentially aplified. |
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Definition
| is the monomer, or single unit, of DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid. Each deoxyribonucleotide comprises three parts: A nitrogenous base, a deoxyribose sugar, and one or more phosphate groups |
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Term
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Definition
| nucleotides lacking a 3'-hydroxyl (-OH) group on their deoxyribose sugar. Since deoxyribose already lacks a 2'-OH, dideoxyribose lacks hydroxyl groups at both its 2' and 3' carbons |
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| Central Dogma of Molecular Bio |
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Definition
| DNA codes for the production of RNA, RNA codes for the production of protein, and protein does not code for the production of protein, RNA, or DNA. (12.2 has a diagram of central dogma pg. 236) |
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Term
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Definition
a polynucleotide similar to DNA, but it differs from DNA in three ways:
1. RNA generally consists of only one polynucleotide strand
2. The sugar molecule found in RNA is ribose, rather than the deoxyribose found in DNA
3. Although three of the nitrogenous bases in RNA are identical to those in DNA, the fourth base in RNA is uracil |
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Term
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Definition
| one of the four bases in the nucleic acid of DNA that makes up the letters GCAT. The others are adenine, guanine, and cytosine. Thymine (T) always pairs with adenine. In RNA, thymine is replaced with uracil in most cases. In DNA, thymine (T) binds to adenine (A) via two hydrogen bonds to assist in stabilizing the nucleic acid structures |
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Definition
| similar to Thymine but lacks the methyl (-CH3) group |
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Definition
| travels from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, where it serves as a template for the synthesis of proteins |
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Term
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Definition
| they recognize the genetic message of mRNA and simultaneously carry specific amino acids, tRNAs can translate the language of DNA into the language of proteins. The tRNA adapters line up on the mRNA so that the amino acids are in the proper sequence for a growing polypeptide chain aka translation |
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Term
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Definition
| the central component of the ribosome, the protein manufacturing machinery of all living cells. The function of the rRNA is to provide a mechanism for decoding mRNA into amino acids and to interact with the tRNAs during translation by providing peptidyl transferase activity |
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Term
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Definition
| an enzyme that produces RNA. In cells, RNAP is needed for constructing RNA polymerase bind. |
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Definition
| a special sequence of DNA to which RNA polymerase binds very tightly. There is at least one promoter for each gene or, motor lie groups of nucleotides that help the RNA polymerase bind. |
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Definition
| for some genes, the newly formed transcript simply falls away from DNA template and the RNA polymerase. For others, a helper protein pulls the transcript away. |
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Term
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Definition
| Each sequence of three nucleotide bases (the three "letters") along the chain specifies a particular amino acid. Each 3-letter "word" is called a codon. |
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Term
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Definition
| AUG, which codes for methionine, is also the start codon, the initiation signal for translation |
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Term
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Definition
| three of the codons (UAA, UAG, UGA) are stop codons, or termination signals for translation; when the translation machinery reaches one of these codons, translation stops, and the polypeptide is released from the translation complex. |
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Definition
| 4 x 4 x 4 = 64 poss. triplet codes with 4 bases |
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Term
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Definition
an amino acid may be represented by more than one codon.
--To say the code is ambiguous would mean that a single codon could specify either of two (or more) diff. amino acids; there would then be doubt whether to put in, say, leucine or something else. the genetic code is not ambiguous |
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Definition
| midpoint of tRNA, there is a group of 3 bases: this constitutes the site of complementary base pairing (hydrogen bonding) with mRNA |
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Definition
| where a charged tRNA first lands on the ribosome, accompanied by a special protein "escort" called the T, or transfer factor |
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Term
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Definition
| where the tRNA anticodon binds to the mRNA codon, thus lining up the correct amino acid to be added to the growing polypeptide chain. |
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Term
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Definition
| where the tRNA adds its amino acid to the growing polypeptide chain |
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Term
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Definition
| where the tRNA, having given up its amino acid, resides before leaving the ribosome and going back to the cutosol to pick up another amino acid and begin the process again. |
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Term
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Definition
| unwinds the DNA about 20 base pairs at a time and reads the template strand in the 3'-to-5' directions |
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Definition
| a set of proteins that facilitate the events of translational elongation, the steps in protein synthesis from the formation of the first peptide bond to the formation of the last one. |
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Definition
| a protein that recognizes the termination codon or stop codon in an mRNA sequence on the ribosome. |
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Definition
| heritable changes in genetic info. |
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Definition
| those that occur in somatic (body) cells. These mutations are passed on to the daughter cells after mitosis, and to the offspring of those cells in turn, but are not passed on to sexually produced offspring. |
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Definition
| those that occur in the cells of the germ line--the specialized cells that give rise to gametes |
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Definition
| mutations of single base pairs and so are limited to single genes: One allele (usually dominant) becomes another allelle (usually recessive) because of an alteration (gain/loss or substitution) of a single nucleotide |
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Term
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Definition
| b/c of the redundancy of the genetic code, some point mutations result in no change in amino acids when the altered mRNA is translated |
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Definition
| some base substitutions mutations change the genetic message such that one amino acid subs for another in the protien. |
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Definition
| a life-long blood disorder characterized by red blood cells that assume an abnormal, rigid, sickle shape. Sickling decreases the cell's flexibility and results in a risk of various complications. The sickling occurs b/c of a mutation in the hemoglobin gene. Life expectancy is shortened, w/studies reporting an average life expectancy of 42 and 48 years for males and females respectively |
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