Aerobic Cellular Respiration and Transcription/Translation Processes

These flashcards cover key concepts related to aerobic cellular respiration, fermentation, transcription, translation, and mutations.

Aerobic respiration

A metabolic process that requires oxygen to break down glucose and produce ATP.

Glycolysis

The first stage of aerobic respiration occurring in the cytoplasm where glucose is converted into pyruvate, producing ATP and NADH.

Pyruvate oxidation

The conversion of pyruvate into acetyl CoA, which enters the citric acid cycle, releasing carbon dioxide and producing NADH.

Citric acid cycle (Krebs cycle)

The second stage of aerobic respiration occurring in the mitochondrial matrix that processes acetyl CoA into carbon dioxide, generating ATP, NADH, and FADH2.

Oxidative phosphorylation

The final stage of aerobic respiration where ATP is produced through the electron transport chain and chemiosmosis.

Electron transport chain (ETC)

A series of protein complexes in the mitochondrial inner membrane that transfers electrons and pumps hydrogen ions to create a gradient for ATP synthesis.

Chemiosmosis

The process in which hydrogen ions flow back across the mitochondrial membrane through ATP synthase, driving the production of ATP.

NADH

An electron carrier molecule produced in glycolysis and the citric acid cycle that donates electrons to the electron transport chain.

FADH2

Another electron carrier produced in the citric acid cycle that also delivers electrons to the electron transport chain.

Fermentation

Anaerobic process that allows glycolysis to continue by regenerating NAD+ in the absence of oxygen, resulting in products like lactic acid or ethanol.

Lactic acid fermentation

A type of fermentation in animals that converts pyruvate into lactic acid, regenerating NAD+.

Alcohol fermentation

A type of fermentation in yeast and bacteria that converts pyruvate into ethanol and carbon dioxide, regenerating NAD+.

Transcription

The process of converting DNA into RNA, occurring in the nucleus in eukaryotes and in the cytoplasm in prokaryotes.

Translation

The process of decoding mRNA into a protein at the ribosome, using tRNA to bring the correct amino acids.

mRNA

Messenger RNA; the RNA copy of a gene that is used as a template for protein synthesis during translation.

tRNA

Transfer RNA; the molecule that carries amino acids to the ribosome during translation based on the codons of mRNA.

Transcription factor

A protein that helps initiate transcription by assisting RNA polymerase in binding to DNA.

Point mutation

A mutation where a single nucleotide is changed, potentially altering the amino acid sequence of a protein.

Frameshift mutation

A mutation in which nucleotides are added or deleted, shifting the reading frame and potentially altering the entire protein sequence.

Missense mutation

A type of point mutation that results in a different amino acid being incorporated into the protein.

Nonsense mutation

A point mutation that creates a stop codon, prematurely ending protein synthesis.

Introns and exons

Introns are non-coding regions of RNA that are removed during processing, while exons are coding regions that remain in the final mRNA.

Spliceosome

A complex responsible for removing introns from pre-mRNA to produce mature mRNA.

AUG codon

The start codon in mRNA that signals the beginning of translation.

Peptidyl transfer reaction

The reaction that forms peptide bonds between amino acids during protein synthesis in the ribosome.

ATP Synthase

An enzyme that synthesizes ATP from ADP and inorganic phosphate using energy from the hydrogen ion gradient.

Hydrogen ion gradient

The difference in concentration of hydrogen ions across a membrane used to generate ATP during oxidative phosphorylation.