DNA & RNA
This is the subunit of DNA — made of a phosphate group, a deoxyribose sugar, and a nitrogenous base.
What is a nucleotide?
This enzyme unwinds the DNA and builds the mRNA strand during transcription.
What is RNA polymerase?
A mutation is a permanent change in the base sequence of DNA.
What is a mutation?
This is the term for a series of enzyme-controlled reactions, where the product of one reaction becomes the substrate of the next.
What is a metabolic pathway?
This term describes the genetic make-up of an organism for a particular feature.
What is genotype?
In DNA, adenine always pairs with this base, and cytosine always pairs with this base.
What are thymine and guanine?
This is the start codon on mRNA, which also codes for methionine and signals translation to begin.
What is AUG?
This term describes a physical or chemical agent — like radiation, UV light, or a toxin — that increases the frequency of mutation (aside from spontaneous mutations).
What is a mutagen?
These are substrates that are produced from one enzyme-controlled reaction, and is the substrate for another reaction with an enzyme that forms another product along the pathway.
What are intermediate substrates?
This term describes the physical appearance of a feature. It can describe characteristics or traits.
What is phenotype?
RNA has this base instead of thymine. It complements adenine.
What is uracil?
These non-coding sections of pre-mRNA are cut out (spliced) before the mature mRNA is translated.
What are introns?
This type of mutation happens when a base is inserted or deleted in the DNA sequence, changing the reading frame of every triplet that follows.
What is a frameshift mutation?
Phenotype results from the interaction between genotype and this.
Genotype + Environment = Phenotype
What is the environment?
DNA template strand: TTG CAT GCC ATG, this complements the mRNA strand.
What DNA sequence complements this mRNA code AAC GUA CGG UAC?
During translation, this molecule brings an amino acid to the ribosome, matching its anticodon to the mRNA codon.
What is tRNA?
This type of point (substitution) mutation changes the codon but still codes for the same amino acid, due to the redundancy of the genetic code. The reading frame is preserved so the effect of this mutation is not lethal because the final protein can fold normally and remain functional.
What is a silent mutation and what are the effects of this mutation?
Triplet = 3 base sequence on the template strand on DNA
Codon = 3 base sequence on the complementary mRNA strand (U replaces T)
What is the difference between a triplet and codon?
Given the mRNA strand AUG CCA UAC AAA, the resulting amino acids produced by translation are MET-PRO-TYR-LYS.
What amino acids will be brought by tRNA with this mRNA sequence?
AUG CCA UAC AAA
This type of mutation changes a codon into a STOP codon in the wrong place (prematurely), resulting in a short, incomplete, and usually non-functional protein.
Conditions: Sickle cell anemia, Cystic fibrosis, Phenylketonuria (PKU), or Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
What is the effect of a nonsense mutation on the final protein?
Provide any 2 examples of a disease/condition that can result from a mutation.