Replication
This is the name of the specific sequence where DNA replication begins.
What is the origin of replication?
In eukaryotes, transcription begins when RNA polymerase binds to this DNA sequence upstream of the gene.
What is the promoter?
This molecule carries amino acids to the ribosome and matches them to the mRNA codons via its anticodon.
What is transfer RNA (tRNA)?
This sugar is found in the backbone of RNA but not DNA.
What is ribose?
This enzyme "unzips" the DNA double helix at the start of replication.
What is helicase?
The strand of DNA with the nucleotide sequence 5'-CGGTAC-3' corresponds to this sequence in the complementary strand.
What is 3'-GCCATG-5'?
During transcription, these weak chemical interactions form between the RNA nucleotides and the DNA template strand to ensure base pairing specificity.
What are hydrogen bonds?
This is the three-nucleotide sequence on mRNA that specifies a particular amino acid.
What is a codon?
Unlike DNA, RNA contains this nitrogenous base instead of thymine.
What is uracil?
This enzyme adds complementary nucleotides to the growing DNA strand.
What is DNA polymerase?
These structures form at multiple sites along eukaryotic chromosomes to allow rapid replication and consist of two replication forks moving in opposite directions.
What are replication bubbles?
These are the three main stages of transcription, involving initiation, elongation, and termination of the RNA strand.
What are the initiation, elongation, and termination stages?
This site on the ribosome is where the incoming aminoacyl-tRNA first binds during translation.
What is the A (aminoacyl) site?
DNA is typically this structure, whereas RNA is usually single-stranded.
What is a double helix?
This enzyme joins together fragments of DNA by forming phosphodiester bonds.
What is DNA ligase?
This type of covalent bond links the 3'-hydroxyl group of one nucleotide to the 5'-phosphate of the next, forming the sugar-phosphate backbone of DNA.
What is a phosphodiester bond?
These proteins bind to specific DNA sequences and help regulate the rate of transcription initiation in eukaryotes.
What are transcription factors?
This codon signals the start of translation and codes for methionine in eukaryotes.
What is the AUG start codon?
Compared to DNA, RNA molecules generally have this difference in chemical stability.
What is less stable (or more prone to hydrolysis)?
This enzyme synthesizes a short RNA segment that serves as a starting point for DNA polymerase during replication.
What is primase?
This type of errors in DNA replication that escape proofreading and repair is often a single nucleotide change.
What is a point mutation (or specifically, a base substitution)?
Before leaving the nucleus, eukaryotic pre-mRNA must undergo these three major modifications.
What are 5' capping, 3' polyadenylation, and splicing?
This feature of the genetic code means that most amino acids are encoded by more than one codon, providing redundancy in the code.
What is degeneracy (or the degenerate code)?
Unlike DNA, RNA molecules often undergo this process, where introns are removed and exons are joined before translation.
What is RNA splicing?
This enzyme relieves the torsional strain ahead of the replication fork by introducing transient breaks in the DNA.
What is topoisomerase (or specifically, DNA gyrase in prokaryotes)?