Introduction to Cell Biology and Nucleic Acids

Flashcards covering basic cell structures, fluorescent microscopy, monomers and polymers, nucleotide chemical structure, and complementary base pairing based on the lecture transcript.

Endosymbiotic event

An evolutionary event where a eukaryotic cell incorporated a prokaryote related to purple bacteria, eventually forming a symbiotic relationship that yielded mitochondria.

Cholesterol

A flat, multi-ring lipid molecule embedded in plasma membranes that regulates membrane fluidity and serves as a precursor for making steroid hormones.

Amino acid

The monomer building block of proteins, consisting of a central carbon attached to an amino group ($NH_2$), a carboxylic acid group ($COOH$), a hydrogen atom, and a variable R group.

Cytoskeleton

An internal protein skeleton that gives a cell its shape and supports cell function.

Intermediate filaments

Rigid and stable protein components of the cytoskeleton that contribute to cellular stability.

Microtubules

Stiff, tube-like cytoskeletal proteins that maintain cell structure and play a central role during cell division.

Microfilaments

Cytoskeletal protein lines that create tension in the cell and interact with myosin to facilitate muscle contraction.

Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP)

A protein originally isolated from jellyfish that absorbs blue light and emits green light, used in fluorescence microscopy to track specific proteins in live cells.

Polymer

A large molecule made up of many repeating monomer units tied together by chemical bonds.

Monomer

An individual active building block molecule, such as an amino acid or nucleotide, that links together to form a polymer.

Nucleotide

The monomer of DNA and RNA consisting of a ribose or deoxyribose sugar, a phosphate group attached to the $5'$ carbon, and a nitrogenous base attached to the $1'$ carbon.

Pyrimidines

Single-ring nitrogenous bases consisting of cytosine, thymine (in DNA), and uracil (in RNA).

Purines

Double-ring nitrogenous bases consisting of adenine and guanine.

Sugar-phosphate backbone

The structural frame of a DNA polymer formed by chemical bonds between the phosphate group of an incoming nucleotide and the $3'$ hydroxyl ($-OH$) group of the preceding nucleotide.

Template strand

A preexisting DNA strand whose sequence guides the synthesis of a new complementary strand during DNA replication.

Antiparallel orientation

The structural arrangement of double-stranded DNA where the sugar-phosphate backbones run in opposite directions, one in the $5'$ to $3'$ direction and the other in the $3'$ to $5'$ direction.

Hydrogen bonds

Weak attractive chemical interactions that form specific base pairings between adenine and thymine (or uracil) and between cytosine and guanine.

Probe

A labeled, complementary strand of DNA used by geneticists to bind and locate a specific target sequence within a DNA molecule.