DNA
What bases pair with eachother in DNA?
Adenine-Thymine and Guanine-Cytosine
Where is RNA found in the cell?
The nucleus and the cytoplasm.
What is the point of Translation?
To assemble amino acids into polypeptide chains.
What is a mutation?
A mutation is a heritable change in genetic information.
What is a codon?
A genetic code that is read three letters at a time and consists of three consecutive bases that specify a single amino acid.
Where is DNA found in the cell?
(eukaryotes)
Nucleus
What are the three types of RNA? What do they do? Where are they found?
Where does Translation take place?
In the nucleus on a ribosome.
What are the two types of gene mutations? What do they do?
Point mutations and Frameshift mutations. Point mutations describe changes tat occur in a single nucleotide of DNA. Frameshift mutations describe changes that occur when a base is added or deleted and cause a shift on the "reading frame" of the genetic message.
What are introns? What are exons?
Introns are the portions that are not needed to code for a specific gene so they are discarded form pre-MRNA. Exons are the remaining pieces that are put back together and code for specific genes.
How can DNA molecules fit inside the nucleus?
DNA is coiled around proteins called histones to form nucleosomes.
How many codons are needed to make 6 amino acids? How many bases are needed to mae 6 amino acids?
18 codons are needed. 18 bases are needed.
What is the point of Transcription?
To produce complementary RNA molecules.
Which one is more destructive and why?
Frameshift mutations are more destructive because they are inserting or deleting a base and messing up the "reading frame" from that point on, while Point mutations are just switching out a base and that would only affect that specific pairing.
What is DNA Replication?
The copying process of a DNA strand.
Why is the process of DNA replication important before cell division occurs?
DNA replication ensures that each resulting cell had a complete set of DNA molecules.
What is the anticodon to the mRNA codon and what does it do?
The anticodon is a tRNA molecule which complements the mRNA molecule.
Where does Transcription take place?
In the nucleus.
What is the difference between a gene mutation and a chromosomal mutation?
A gene mutation occurs in a single gene, while chromosomal mutations occur in the whole chromosome.
What is base pairing?
The nearly perfect fit btwn bases A=T and G=C
What enzyme unzips the parent double helix? What enzyme builds the new DNA strand by matching free nucleotides with bases on the parent strand? What ensyme glues together fragments on the lagging strand?
Helicase. DNA Polymerase. Ligase.
Why is the tRNA molecule so important?
It brings amino acids to the ribosome and matches them to the coded mRNA message.
What is the main difference between Translation and Transcription?
Translation is the process of synthesizing an amino acid sequence from the transcribed mRNA molecule, while Transcription is the process of producing an mRNA molecule for the DNA of a gene.
What are the effects of mutations?
Mutations have neutral, beneficial, and harmful effects. In the neutral effects of a mutation nothing occurs. The beneficial effects of a mutation cause beneficial variations of genes. The harmful effects cause a dramatic change in the protein structure or gene activity.
What is RNA Synthesis?
The process of making a complementary strand for an RNA strand.