Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

Biology 3 & 4 > Nucleic acids and proteins (UNFINISHED) > Flashcards

Nucleic acids and proteins (UNFINISHED) Flashcards

(75 cards)

Start Studying
1
Q

Polypeptide

A

A long chain of amino
acids

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Proteome

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Enzyme

A

an organic molecule,
typically a protein, that catalyses
(speeds up) specific reactions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Amino group

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Amino acid overall structure

A

Central carbon (C), carboxyl group (COOH), amino group (NHH), R group (R) and hydrogen atom (H)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Hydrophobic

A

having a tendency
to repel and be insoluble in water

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Hydrophilic

A

having a tendency
to be attracted to and dissolve
in water

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Monomer

A

a molecule that
is the smallest building block
of a polymer

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Polymer

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Peptide bond

A

 the chemical bond
linking two amino acids

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Primary structure

A

refers to the sequence of amino acids
in a polypeptide chain

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Secondary structure

A

where the amino acid chain forms either alpha-helices, beta-pleated
sheets, or random coils due to forming hydrogen bonds between AAs of different its sections

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Tertiary structure

A

the functional 3D shape of a polypeptide chain, formed by secondary structures further folding by interactions and bonds between AAs and R-groups.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Quaternary structure

A

the level of protein structure where
multiple polypeptide chains bond
together, or other non-protein (prosthetic) groups are added to form a fully functional protein. E.g. RuBisCo

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Alpha helix

A

an organised coiled
secondary structure of proteins

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Beta-pleated sheet

A

an organised
folded secondary structure
of proteins

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Random coil

A

an irregular secondary structure of proteins that is neither an alpha helix nor a beta-pleated sheet. Join alpha-helices and beta-pleated sheets

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Disulphide bond

A

a strong covalent
bond occurring between two
sulphur atoms (cysteine amino acids have these), further stabilising the protein’s 3D structure

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Prosthetic group

A

a non-protein
group bound to a protein. For
example, a vitamin or ion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Amino acid

A

The monomer of proteins that join together via condensation reactions to form polypeptide chains.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Nucleic acid

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Nucleotide

A

The monomer subunit
of nucleic acids. Made up of a
nitrogen-containing base, a fivecarbon sugar molecule (ribose in
RNA and deoxyribose in DNA),
and a phosphate group

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
a double-stranded nucleic acid chain made up of nucleotides. DNA carries the instructions for proteins which are required for cell and organism survival
26
RNA (ribonucleic acid)
a single-stranded nucleic acid chain made up of nucleotides. Includes mRNA, rRNA, and tRNA
27
Phospodiester bond
a strong covalent bond linking a five-carbon sugar to a phosphate group
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
antiparallel
a characteristic of DNA strands describing how each strand runs in an opposite direction to the other. One strand runs in a 3’ -> 5’ direction and the other runs in a 5’ -> 3’ direction
32
double helix
the structure of double-stranded DNA in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells, where each DNA strand wraps around a central axis
33
nuclear DNA
DNA that is located in the nucleus of a cell
34
messenger RNA (mRNA)
RNA molecules that are produced during transcription and carry genetic information from the nucleus to the ribosomes
35
transfer RNA (tRNA) 
RNA that recognises specific codons on the mRNA strand and adds the corresponding amino acid to the polypeptide chain during protein synthesis
36
ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
RNA that is a key structural component of ribosomes, which assemble proteins
37
transcription
the process whereby a sequence of DNA is used as a template to produce a complementary sequence of mRNA
38
translation
the process where an mRNA sequence is read to produce a corresponding amino acid sequence to build a polypeptide
39
triplet
the sequence of three nucleotides in DNA coding for one amino acid
40
codon
the sequence of three nucleotides in mRNA coding for one amino acid
41
start codon
the sequence of three nucleotides in mRNA that signals the start of translation
42
stop codon
the sequence of three nucleotides in mRNA that signals the end of translation
43
Universal
Nearly all living organisms use the same codons to code for specific amino acids.
44
Unambiguous
Each codon is only capable of coding for one specific amino acid. For example, the codon UUA only codes for the amino acid leucine.
45
Degenerate
Each amino acid may be coded for by multiple different codons.
46
Non-overlapping
Each triplet or codon is read independently, without overlapping from adjacent triplets or codons.
47
Promoter
the sequence of DNA to which RNA polymerase binds
48
RNA polymerase
the enzyme responsible for constructing a pre-mRNA sequence from a DNA sequence during transcription
49
TATA box
a type of promoter region
50
introns
non-coding regions of DNA that do not code for proteins. They are spliced out during RNA processing
51
exons
regions of DNA that code for proteins and are not spliced out during RNA processing
52
termination sequence
a sequence of DNA that signals the end of transcription
53
operator
a short region of DNA that interacts with repressor proteins to alter the transcription of an operon
54
repressor protein
a protein coded for by a regulatory gene that prevents gene expression by binding to its operator
55
leader region
the segment of DNA or mRNA that immediately precedes the coding region. Also known as the leader segment or leader sequence
56
precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) 
the immediate product of transcription of a DNA sequence. Requires modifications before it can undergo translation
57
transcription factor
proteins that bind to the promoter region and control the functioning of RNA polymerase
58
template strand 
 the strand of DNA transcribed by RNA polymerase to produce a complementary pre-mRNA strand
59
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)
60
termination sequence
a sequence of DNA that signals the end of transcription
61
ribosome
an organelle made of rRNA and protein that is the site of protein synthesis. Can be free in the cytosol or attached to the rough endoplasmic reticulum
62
5’ methyl-G cap 
a molecule added to the 5’ end of pre-mRNA during RNA processing
63
3’ poly-A tail
a chain of adenine nucleotides added to the 3’ end of pre-mRNA during RNA processing
64
introns
non-coding regions of DNA that do not code for proteins. They are spliced out during RNA processing
65
splicing
process where introns are cut out of a pre-mRNA molecule, and exons are joined together
66
exons
regions of DNA that code for proteins and are not spliced out during RNA processing
67
spliceosome
the enzyme that removes introns from the premRNA molecule and joins exons together during RNA processing
68
alternative splicing
the process where different exons may be spliced, resulting in a single gene producing multiple different mRNA strands
69
codon
the sequence of three nucleotides in mRNA coding for one amino acid
70
start codon
the sequence of three nucleotides in mRNA that signals the start of translation
71
anticodon
the sequence of three nucleotides on a tRNA molecule that recognises a specific sequence of three nucleotides (codon) on an mRNA strand
72
peptide bond
the chemical bond linking two amino acids
73
condensation reaction
a reaction where two monomers join to form a larger molecule, producing water as a by-product
74
stop codon
the sequence of three nucleotides in mRNA that signals the end of translation
75

Biology 3 & 4 (10 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions