Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids

Question 1

Nucleotides

Answer 1

building blocks of nucleic acids
sugar, phosphate, base

Question 2

DNA

Answer 2

stores and transmits info

Question 3

gene

Answer 3

sections of dna that encode info to make products

Question 4

mRNA

Answer 4

messenger RNA
carries info from the gene to the ribosome

Question 5

tRNA

Answer 5

transfer RNA
translates info from mRNA into the amino acid code of the protein

Question 6

rRNA

Answer 6

ribosomal RNA
carries out the synthesis of a protein

Question 7

Functions of nucleotides

Answer 7

energy
enzyme cofactors
regulatory molecules

Question 8

How many rings and nitrogens does a pyrimidine have?

Answer 8

one ring
2 nitrogens

Question 9

How many rings and nitrogens does a purine have?

Answer 9

2 rings
4 nitrogens

Question 10

nucleoside

Answer 10

sugar and a base

Question 11

nucleobase

Answer 11

just the base

Question 12

What are the 5 nucleoside bases?

Answer 12

cytosine
thymine
uracil
adenine
guanine

Question 13

What does RNA do?

Answer 13

process info

Question 14

What are the major structural differences between DNA and RNA?

Answer 14

1. deoxy sugar at 2’ position
2. bases used; U in RNA, T in DNA

Question 15

How are DNA or RNA strands linked together?

Answer 15

phosphodiester backbone

Question 16

How are genetic chains written and read?

Answer 16

5’ -> 3’

Question 17

Nucleotides absorb UV light around?

Answer 17

260 nm

Question 18

Nucleotides form hydrogens bonds with each other and are x, y, and z

Answer 18

aromatic
hydrophobic
planar

Question 19

Minor bases

Answer 19

involved in regulation, methylation, or hydroxymethylation
inosine for tRNA

Question 20

What is the primary structure of DNA?

Answer 20

the nucleotide sequence

Question 21

What is the secondary structure of DNA?

Answer 21

double helix

Question 22

What is the tertiary structure of DNA?

Answer 22

large 3D folding into chromosomes

Question 23

Who was involved in the discovery of DNA structure?

Answer 23

James D. Watson
Francis Crick
Rosalind Franklin
Maurice Wilkins

Question 24

A form

Answer 24

most stable in non aqueous environments; right handed helix

Question 25

B form

Answer 25

most stable at physiological conditions; right handed helix

Question 26

Z form

Answer 26

common in high GC repeat used in regulation left handed helix

Question 27

DNA structure

Answer 27

double helix with antiparallel complementary strands base pairs will cause an offset- results in major and minor grooves

Question 28

What maintains the helix?

Answer 28

H bonding holds strands together Pi stacking orients the bases

Question 29

Palindromes

Answer 29

hairpins and cruciforms

Question 30

mirrored repeats

Answer 30

used for regulation

Question 31

Hoogsteen Pairing

Answer 31

H bonding to non-Watson and Crick sites usually at low pH bc it requires protonation of cytosine

Question 32

Triplex DNA

Answer 32

occurs in areas of only purine/pyrimidines role in regulation and protein binding

Question 33

Tetraplex

Answer 33

forms in areas of high G content usually in telomeres have a role in oncogenesis

Question 34

RNA is

Answer 34

always single stranded in a right handed helix capable of forming hairpins and loops with itself

Question 35

Denaturation

Answer 35

breaking of DNA into single strands can be partial/total no covalent bonds are broken

Question 36

Annealing/ Renaturation

Answer 36

bringing the strands back together

Question 37

What is more stable: DNA or RNA?

Answer 37

DNA

Question 38

GC content

Answer 38

when higher leads to stronger bonds and ability to withstand higher temps differs between species useful for species identification in bacteria

Question 39

DNA Hybridization

Answer 39

DNA with similar sequences will form hybrid duplexes can help determine the function of genes

Question 40

DNA damage

Answer 40

can lead to disease caused by deamination, dimerization, chemical reactions, methylation

Question 41

Deamination

Answer 41

oxidative, nucleotide transformation

Question 42

Cytosine -> Uracil

Answer 42

most common deamination responsible for high mutation rates

Question 43

5-methylcytesine -> thymine

Answer 43

type of deamination likely how thymine came to be evolutionarily

Question 44

Adenosine -> hypoxanthine Guanosine -> xanthine

Answer 44

types of less common deaminations

Question 45

depurination

Answer 45

loss of the base from the sugar causes an a basic site which can lead to errors in DNA processing more common in DNA bigger issue if it happens in RNA

Question 46

dimerization

Answer 46

occurs because of UV radiation requires repair can lead to mutation

Question 47

Nitrates and nitrites

Answer 47

common preservatives in body convert to nitrous acid

Question 48

Nitrous acid becomes nitrous amines which promote?

Answer 48

deamination

Question 49

Enzymatic methylation

Answer 49

bases get methylated for a purpose A is methylated for repair about 5% of C is methylated as a marker in promoter regions and for gene regulation

Question 50

DNA sequencing happens

Answer 50

automatically