Chapter 16 How Genes Work Flashcards
(33 cards)
gene expression
the process of converting achieved information into molecules that actually do things
genetic screen
any technique used to pick particular types of mutants out of many randomly generated mutants
metabolic pathway
the series of steps that allow from protein synthesis
null/loss of function alleles
alleles that have been damaged to find what process they effect and to what degree
Central Dogma
DNA is transcribed into mRNA which is translated in proteins
mRNA
messenger RNA acts as a link between DNA in the nucleus and the protein manufacturing center in cytolasm
RNA polymerase
uses DNA as a template to polymerize ribonucleotides into RNA
transcription
using DNA template to make an RNA molecule that has the complementary base sequence to the template
tranlation
using the information in mRNA to synthesize proteins.
ribosomes
translate the information on mRNA into proteins
codon
a group of 3 bases that code for a specific amino acid
redundancy
amino acids can be coded for by multiple types of codons/sequence of 3 base pairs
reading frame
sequence of codons that codes for an amino acids, a single deletion throws off the reading frame by changing the composition of the entire sequence of codons
when will a deletion still code for a functional protein?
when an entire codon is deleted from the sequence. it may not be the same protein, and sometimes it wont work
number of codons
64
AUG
the start codon, a signal for protein synthesis to start at that point on the mRNA molecule
uAA, UAG, UGA
stop codons, termination codons, signal the end of translation and when the protein is complete, do not code or anything
mutations
any permanent change in an organisms DNA
silent point mutation
change in nucleotide sequence, does not change the amino acid specified by a codon
missence point mutation
change in nucleotide sequence that changes the amino acid specified by the codon
point mutation
A mutation that alters one or a small number of base pairs, several types based on effects
nonsense point mutation
change in nucleotide sequence that results in a stop codon
frameshift point mutation
addition or deletion of a nucleotide, effects reading frames, rarely neutral or beneficial
beneficial mutations
increase the fitness of the organism