DP1 Biology DNATranscription & Translation

Transcription

Process that creates RNA from a segment of DNA / 1st step in protein synthesis / gene expression

Translation

Creation of a polypeptide chain (sequence of amino acids) / 2nd step of protein synthesis

tRNA

Transfer RNA - carries amino acids (and anticodon) over to the ribosome during translation

mRNA

Messenger RNA - carries codons from nucleus to ribosome and is "read" to indicate what amino acids will be used to create the polypeptide chain

Ribosome

Location of translation in the cell

Gene

segment of DNA that holds information for making polypeptide chains

RNA polymerase

Unwinds the DNA helix, breaks open hydrogen bonds, and adds free floating RNA nucleotides during the process of transcription

Antisense strand

The side / strand of DNA that is used by RNA polymerase as a guide for making RNA during transcription. (Only 1 side is used because RNA is only single-stranded)

Hydrogen bond

Attraction that holds the 2 strands of DNA together - located between the bases (A-T and C-G)

Uracil

This nitrogen-containing base is only found in RNA

Phosphate

Represented by a circle in our DNA diagrams - part of the backbone of DNA

Amino Acid

The building blocks of protein

Thymine

This nitrogen-containing base if only found in DNA

Nitrogen-containing base

Adenine, Guanine, Thymine, Uracil, and Cytosine are the various types of this part of DNA and RNA

Codon

3-letters (nucleotides) at a time on the mRNA (messenger RNA)

Anti-codon

3-letters (nucleotides) on the tRNA - ensures the correct amino acid is brought over to the ribosome

Stop codon

The 3 letters (nucleotides) that stop the process of translation / signal for the ribosome to detach from the mRNA, tRNA, and the amino acid chain

DNA

a double-stranded, helical nucleic acid molecule capable of replicating and determining the inherited traits of organisms and viruses.

Nucleotide

a building block of DNA or RNA, consisting of a sugar, a nitrogenous base and a phosphate group.

Guanine

the nucleotide that hydrogen bonds with the nucleotide cytosine in DNA or RNA.

Cytosine

the nucleotide that hydrogen bonds with the nucleotide guanine in DNA or in RNA.

Ribose

the sugar included in a nucleotide building block of RNA.

Deoxyribose

the surgar included in a nucleotide building block of DNA.

Promoter

The non-coding DNA sequence that lies BEFORE a gene that indicates to RNA polymerase where to START transcription - usually containing the bases TATA.

Terminator

The DNA sequence that indicates the end of a gene - tells RNA polymerase and RNA to detach from DNA

Introns

Non-coding segments of the mRNA that are transcribed but are cut OUT of the mRNA before it leaves the nucleus

Exons

Coding segments of the mRNA that are spliced together, creating the mature mRNA

5' cap and 3' tail

Added to the mRNA before it leaves the nucleus to aide its movement through the nuclear pore, prevent its degradation, and help it attach to the ribosome

Initiation, Elongation, Translocation, Termination

The steps of translation - as a ribosome "reads" mRNA and creates a polypeptide chain

Polysome

Many ribosomes attached to the same mRNA to create several copies of the same polypeptide chain simultaneously

Free ribosomes

Organelles that create protein that will be used INSIDE the cell (not exported)

Bound ribosomes

Organelles attached to the endoplasmic reticulum that will be creating proteins intended for export out of the cell (with the help of golgi apparatus)

tRNA activating enzyme

Enzymes that attach the appropriate amino acid to its matching tRNA.

5' to 3'

The direction that transcription both translation all occur in

Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins

Used x-ray crystallography to create diffraction patterns to study DNA structure

The discovery of the double helix was based off their work

James Watson and Francis Crick

The scientists credited with building the first correct model of the structure of DNA

Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase

Determined that genetic DNA, not protein, was the genetic material using experiments about bacteriophages