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Cellular Respiration

The process by which cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy, carbon dioxide, and water.

Glycolysis

The metabolic pathway that converts glucose into pyruvate, producing a small amount of ATP and NADH.

Pyruvate Oxidation

The process that converts pyruvate into acetyl-CoA, generating CO2 and NADH and linking glycolysis to the Krebs cycle.

Krebs Cycle

A series of enzymatic reactions that produce NADH, FADH2, and ATP through the oxidation of acetyl-CoA.

Electron Transport Chain

A series of protein complexes in the mitochondrial membrane that transfer electrons from NADH and FADH2 to oxygen.

Oxidative Phosphorylation

The process of ATP production that occurs through the transfer of electrons in the electron transport chain and the movement of protons.

NADH

A coenzyme that carries electrons and protons, produced during glycolysis and the Krebs cycle.

FADH2

A coenzyme that carries electrons and protons, produced during the Krebs cycle.

ATP Synthase

An enzyme that uses the proton gradient created by the electron transport chain to synthesize ATP.

Proton Gradient

A difference in proton concentration across a membrane, which drives ATP synthesis during oxidative phosphorylation.

Aerobic Respiration

A type of cellular respiration that requires oxygen to produce energy.

Anaerobic Conditions

Conditions in which oxygen is absent, leading to less efficient ATP production through glycolysis and fermentation.

Fermentation

A metabolic process that regenerates NAD+ from NADH in the absence of oxygen, allowing glycolysis to continue.

Lactic Acid Fermentation

A type of fermentation that occurs in human muscles and some bacteria, converting pyruvate into lactic acid.

Alcohol Fermentation

A type of fermentation that occurs in yeast, converting pyruvate into ethanol and carbon dioxide.

Cofactors

Molecules or ions that assist enzymes in catalyzing reactions.

Allosteric Regulation

The regulation of an enzyme's activity through the binding of molecules at sites other than the active site.

Feedback Inhibition

A regulatory mechanism in which the end product of a metabolic pathway inhibits an upstream process.

Transcription

The process of copying genetic information from DNA to RNA.

Central Dogma of Molecular Biology

The flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to proteins.

Complementary Base Pairing

The specific pairing of nitrogenous bases in DNA: adenine with thymine, and cytosine with guanine.

Nucleoside Triphosphate (NTP)

A molecule consisting of a nitrogenous base, a sugar, and three phosphate groups; used in RNA synthesis.

Promoter Region

A specific DNA sequence where RNA polymerase binds to initiate transcription.

mRNA

Messenger RNA, a type of RNA that carries instructions from DNA for protein synthesis.

tRNA

Transfer RNA, a type of RNA that carries amino acids to the ribosome for protein synthesis.

rRNA

Ribosomal RNA, a component of ribosomes that helps catalyze peptide bond formation.

Polypeptide

A chain of amino acids linked by peptide bonds, making up proteins.

Activation Energy

The minimum energy required for a chemical reaction to occur.

Hydrolysis

A chemical reaction that involves the breaking of a bond by the addition of water.

Enzyme-substrate complex

A temporary complex formed when an enzyme binds to its substrate.

DNA Ligase

An enzyme that joins DNA strands together by forming phosphodiester bonds.

RNA Polymerase

An enzyme that synthesizes RNA from a DNA template during transcription.

Intron

A non-coding sequence of DNA that is removed during RNA processing.

Exon

A coding sequence of DNA that is retained in the final mRNA.

Splicing

The process of removing introns and joining exons together in mRNA.

Codon

A sequence of three nucleotides in mRNA that specifies an amino acid.

Post-transcriptional modification

The process of modifying RNA after transcription, including capping, polyadenylation, and splicing.

Anticodon

A sequence of three nucleotides on tRNA that pairs with the complementary codon on mRNA.

Polycistronic mRNA

A type of mRNA that encodes multiple proteins, common in prokaryotes.

Monocistronic mRNA

A type of mRNA that encodes only one protein, typical in eukaryotes.

Ribosome Binding Site (RBS)

The sequence in prokaryotic mRNA that facilitates the binding of the ribosome.

Translation Initiation Complex

The assembly of ribosomal subunits, mRNA, and the initiator tRNA before protein synthesis begins.

Simple sequence repeat (SSR)

Short sequences of DNA that are repeated, often used as genetic markers.

Alternative Splicing

The process by which different combinations of exons are joined together to produce different isoforms of proteins.

Gene Expression

The process by which information from a gene is used to synthesize functional products such as proteins.

RNA Processing

The modifications that RNA undergoes after transcription, including splicing and capping.

Translocation

The process of shifting the position of the ribosome along the mRNA during translation.

Peptidyl Transferase

An enzyme present in the ribosome that catalyzes the formation of peptide bonds between amino acids.

Stop Codon

A codon in mRNA that signals the termination of translation, resulting in the release of the newly formed polypeptide.

Polyribosome

A complex of multiple ribosomes translating a single mRNA simultaneously.

Transcription Factors

Proteins that assist RNA polymerase in initiating transcription by binding to specific DNA sequences.

Nucleosome

A structural unit of chromatin, consisting of DNA wrapped around a core of histone proteins.

Chromatin

The complex of DNA and proteins that forms chromosomes within the nucleus of eukaryotic cells.

Histones

Basic proteins around which DNA is coiled to form nucleosomes.

Euchromatin

A less condensed form of chromatin that is active in transcription.

Heterochromatin

Tightly packaged form of DNA, generally inactive in transcription and found at the periphery of the nucleus.

Telomere

The repetitive DNA sequence at the ends of chromosomes that protects them from degradation.

Origin of Replication (ori)

The specific location on a DNA molecule where replication begins.

Leading Strand

The DNA strand that is synthesized continuously in the direction of the replication fork.

Lagging Strand

The DNA strand that is synthesized discontinuously in Okazaki fragments, away from the replication fork.

Okazaki Fragments

Short sequences of DNA synthesized on the lagging strand during DNA replication.

DNA Template Strand

The strand of DNA that serves as the template for RNA synthesis during transcription.

Transcription Bubble

The region of unwound DNA where transcription occurs.

Rho-Dependent Termination

A mechanism of transcription termination in bacteria that involves the Rho factor.

Rho-Independent Termination

A mechanism of transcription termination in bacteria that relies on the formation of a hairpin structure in RNA.

Mature mRNA

The final form of mRNA after processing, ready for translation.

Spliceosome

A complex that carries out the splicing of introns from pre-mRNA.

RNA-dependent RNA polymerase

An enzyme that synthesizes RNA from an RNA template.

Translatome

The complete set of all mRNAs and their corresponding proteins in a cell.

Peptide Bond

A covalent bond formed between two amino acids during protein synthesis.

Chaperone Proteins

Proteins that assist in the proper folding of newly synthesized polypeptides.

Post-translational Modification

Chemical changes to a protein after translation, affecting its activity and function.

Gene Regulation

The mechanisms that cells use to increase or decrease the production of specific gene products.

Signal Transduction Pathways

Processes by which cells respond to signals from their environment, often involving a cascade of molecular events.

Phosphorylation

The addition of a phosphate group to a molecule, often used in signaling pathways to activate or deactivate proteins.

Covalent Modification

The addition or removal of chemical groups from a protein to alter its activity or function.

Apoptosis

The process of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms.

Bioinformatics

The application of computational tools to the understanding and analysis of biological data.

Proteomics

The large-scale study of proteins, particularly their functions and structures.

Genomics

The study of genomes, the complete set of DNA within a single cell of an organism.

Metabolomics

The scientific study of chemical processes involving metabolites.

Synthetic Biology

An interdisciplinary branch of biology and engineering that combines biology and synthetic systems.

Biotechnology

The use of living systems or organisms to develop or create different products.

Clinical Trials

Research studies performed on people to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a medical, surgical, or behavioral intervention.

Transgenic Organisms

Organisms that have been genetically modified to contain a gene from another species.

Gene Therapy

An experimental technique that uses genes to treat or prevent disease.

CRISPR

A family of DNA sequences in prokaryotes that can be used for genome editing.