DNA Flashcards
(15 cards)
what is DNA?
a polymer made up of lots of nucleotides
what are nucleotides?
repeating units
what are the bases and which do they bind to?
A binds to T
C binds to G
what happens when a protein chain is complete and why?
folds up to form a unique shape to carry out its function in a cell
what does non-coding DNA do?
switches genes on or off
what may a change in DNA structure result in?
a change in protein synthesised by the gene
what are nucleotides made up of?
phosphate, bases and sugar
what do the order of bases in a gene decide?
the order of amino acids in a protein
where does protein synthesis happen?
in cytoplasm or ribosomes
DNA is big so can’t move out of the nucleus so…?
base code of gene is copied to make a molecule of MRNA
what is MRNA?
a single strand copy of a gene
what happens once a chain of amino acids is established?
it folds into unique shape to form a protein
what is DNA mutation?
change in sequence of bases in a gene - usually have little to no effect on protein
what can occasionally happen with DNA mutation?
can alter the shape of a protein and stop it working
what is an example of DNA mutation?
active sight shape changing so it cannot fit and function
