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Biology UNIT 1 + 2 > Chapter 2 - Nucleic Acids and Proteins > Flashcards

Chapter 2 - Nucleic Acids and Proteins Flashcards

(74 cards)

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1
Q

monomer

A

a molecule that is the smallest building block of a polymer

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2
Q

polymer

A

a large molecule that is made up of small, repeated monomer subunits

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3
Q

protein

A

a biomacromolecule made of amino acid chains folded into a 3D shape

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4
Q

polypeptide

A

a long chain of amino acids, proteins can be made of one or many polypeptides

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5
Q

proteome

A

all the proteins that are expressed by a cell or organism at a given time

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6
Q

hydrophobic

A

having a tendency to repel and be insoluble to water

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7
Q

hydrophilic

A

having a tendency to be attracted to and dissolve in water

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8
Q

peptide bond

A

the chemical bond linking two amino acids

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9
Q

disulphide bond

A

a strong covalent bond occuring between two sulphur atoms

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10
Q

prosthetic group

A

a non-protein bound group bound to a protein, e.g. a vitamin or ion

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11
Q

condensation reaction

A

a reaction where two monomers join to form a larger molecule, producing water as a by product

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12
Q

carboxyl group

A

the functional group on amino acid molecules that contains a hydroxyl group (OH) and an oxygen double bonded to a carbon atom

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13
Q

amino group

A

the functional group on amino acid molecules that is made up of one nitrogen and two hydrogens (NH2)

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14
Q

R-group

A

the variable portion of an amino acid molecule, it can be one of twenty variations and determines the identity of the amino acid

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15
Q

primary structure

A

the first level of protein structure, which refers to the sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain

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16
Q

secondary structures

A

the level of protein structure where the amino acid chain forms either alpha-helices, beta-pleated sheets, or random coils

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17
Q

tertiary structures

A

the functional 3D shape of a polypeptide chain

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18
Q

quaternary structure

A

the level of protein structure where multiple polypeptide chains bond together, or other non-protein groups are added to form a fully functional protein

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19
Q

alpha helix

A

an organised coiled secondary structure of proteins

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20
Q

beta-pleated sheet

A

an organised folded secondary structure of proteins

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21
Q

random coil

A

an irregular secondary structure of proteins that is neither an alpha helix nor a beta-pleated sheet

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22
Q

nucleic acid

A

the class of macromolecule that includes DNA and RNA, all nucleic acids are polymers made out of nucleotide monomers

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23
Q

nucleotide

A

the monomer subunit of nucleic acids, made up of a nitrogen-containing base, a five-carbon sugar molecule (ribose in RNA and deoxyribose in DNA), and a phosphate group

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24
Q

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

A

a double-stranded nucleic acid chain made up of nucleotides, DNA carries he instructions for proetins which are required for cell and organism survival

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25
RNA (ribonucleic acid)
a single-stranded nucleic acid chain made up of nucleotides, includes mRNA, rRNA and tRNA
26
phosphodiester bond
a strong covalent bond linking a five-carbon sugar to a phosphate group
27
condensation reaction
a reaction where two monomers join to form a larger molecule, producing water as a by-product
28
sugar-phosphate backbone
a strong covalently linked chain of five-carbon sugar molecules and phosphate groups in a nucleic acid chain
29
chromosome
a structure made of protein and nucleic acids that carries genetic information
30
gene
a section of DNA that carries the code to make a protein
31
genome
the complete set of DNA housed within an organism
32
antiparallel
a characteristic of DNA strands describing how each strand run sin an opposite direction to the other, one strand runs in a 3' - 5' direction and the other runs in a 5' - 3' direction
33
complementary base pairing
describes which nucleotides can from hydrogen bonds with each other, C pairs with G, A pairs with T (or U in RNA)
34
double helix
the structure of double stranded DNA in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells, where each DNA strand wraps around a central axis
35
messenger RNA (mRNA)
RNA molecules that are produced during transcription and carry genetic information from the nucleus to the ribosomes
36
transfer RNA (tRNA)
RNA that recognises specific codons on the mRNA strands and adds the corresponding amino acid to the polypeptide chain during protein synthesis
37
ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
RNA that is a key structural component of ribosomes, which assemble proteins
38
transcription
the process whereby a sequence of DNA is used as a template to produce a complementary sequence of mRNA
39
translation
the process where an mRNA sequence is read to produce a corresponding amino acid sequence to build a polypeptide
40
genetic code
the set of rules by which information is encoded in genetic material
41
triplet
the sequence of three nucleotides in DNA coding for one amino acid
42
codon
the sequence of three nucleotides in mRNA coding for one amino acid
43
start codon
the sequence of three nucleotides in mRNA that signals the start of translation
44
stop codon
the sequence of three nucleotides in mRNA that signals the end of translation
45
promoter
the sequence of DNA to which RNA polymerase binds
46
TATA box
a type of promoter region
47
introns
non-coding regions of DNA that do not code for proteins, they are spliced out during RNA processing
48
exons
regions of DNA that code for proteins and are not spliced out during RNA processing
49
termination sequence
a sequence of DNA that signals the end of transcription
50
operator
a short region of DNA that interacts with repressor proteins to alter the transcription of an operon
51
repressor protein
a protein coded for by a regulatory gene that prevents gene expression by binding to its operator
52
gene expression
the process of reading the information stored within a gene to create a functional product, typically a protein
53
leader region
the segment of DNA or mRNA that immediately precedes the coding region, also known as the leader segment or leader sequence
54
transcription factor
proteins that bind to the promoter region and control the functioning of RNA polymerase
55
RNA polymerase
the enzyme responsible for constructing a pre-mRNA sequence from a DNA sequence during transcription
56
template strand
the strand of DNA transcribed by RNA polymerase to produce a complementary pre-mRNA strand
57
coding strand
the strand of DNA not transcribed by RNA polymerase, contains an identical sequence to the mRNA strand produced (except thymine is replaced with uracil in mRNA)
58
precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA)
the immediate product of transcription of a DNA sequence, requires modifications before it can undergo translation
59
5' methyl-G cap
a molecule added to the 5' end of pre-mRNA during RNA processing
60
3' poly-A tail
a chain of adenine nucleotides added to the 3' end of pre-mRNA during RNA processing
61
splicing
process where introns are cut out of a pre-mRNA molecule, and exons are joined together
62
spliceosome
the enzyme that removes introns from the pre-mRNA molecule and joins exons together during RNA processing
63
alternative splicing
the process where different exons may be spliced, resulting in a single gene producing multiple different mRNA strands
64
ribosome
an organelle made of rRNA and protein that is the site of protein synthesis, can be free in the cytosol or attaches to the rough endoplasmic reticulum
65
anticodon
the sequence of three nucleotides on a tRNA molecule that recognises a specific sequence of three nucleotides (codon) on an mRNA strand
66
rough endoplasmic reticulum
a membranous organelle shaped like a series of connected, flattened cylinders that folds and transports proteins via its attached ribosomes
67
Golgi apparatus
an organelle made of flattened sacs of membrane involved n modifying, sorting, and packaging proteins, also known as the Golgi body or the Golgi complex
68
vesicle
a small fluid-filled organelle enclosed in a phospholipid membrane that transports substances around the cell
69
secretory products
the substances inside a vesicle that are being transported out of the cell
70
plasma membrane
the phospholipid bilayer with embedded proteins which separates the intracellular environment from the extracellular environment
71
mitochondrion (pl. mitochondria)
a double-membrane-bound organelle that is the site of the second and third stages of of aerobic cellular respiration
72
active transport
the movement of molecules across a semipermeable membrane requiring an energy input
73
bulk transport
a type of active transport that uses a vesicle to move large molecules or groups of molecules into or out of a cell
74
exocytosis
a type of bulk transport that moves large substances out of a cell

Biology UNIT 1 + 2 (1 decks)

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