DNA Flashcards
(41 cards)
What is the central dogma of molecular biology
DNA –> RNA –> Protein
What are the nucleotide bases
Adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine
Which bases are purines
Adenine and guanine
Which bases are pyrimidine
Cytosine and thymine
How are nucleotides in a strand connected to each other
Phosphodiester bonds
What is Chargaff’s Rule
% A = % T
%C = %G
What is the ratio of C+A:G+C?
It varies!
How many DNA bp per helical turn?
10
What is the most basic level of DNA packaging?
Nucleosome
What is a nucleosome
DNA wrapped around octameric histone complex
“beads on a string”
What are sister chromatids
Identical copies of a chromosome
WHich are larger–purines or pyrimidines
Purines
Where is the centromere
In the middle of the replicated chromosome
Why is the centromere important
Where the mitotic spindle attaches, densest DNA
What is the telomere
Region of DNA at ends of chromatids
Euchromatin:
less condensed, more accessible
Heterochromatin:
highly condensed, not rich in genes, low levels of gene expression
What are the types of heterochromatin
Constitutive and facultative
What are the differences between the subtypes of heterochromatin
Constitutive: always tightly packed
Facultative: can be opened up
What is a gene?
region of DNA that controls discrete hereditary characteristics, usually corresponding to single protein or RNA
What makes up mobile DNA elements
DNA trasposons, retroviral-like retrotransposons, non-retroviral retrotransposons
Why di we care about simple sequence repeats?
Help with gene mapping, some are specific to diseases such as Huntingtons
About how much fo the human genome is repeated vs unique sequences
50-50
Define synteny
The presence of two or more loci on the same chromosome