Gene Expression and Recession Quiz

Calvin-Benson Cycle

The dark reactions of photosynthesis, which use ATP and NADPH produced in the light-dependent reactions to convert CO2 into carbohydrates, also known as the Calvin-Benson Cycle.

CAM Plants

Plants that live in hot climates and have evolved to temporally separate carbon fixation and the Calvin cycle by opening their stomata at night and incorporating CO2 into organic acids, which are then broken down during the day while the light reactions run.

C4 Plants

Plants that have evolved a different leaf anatomy that allows them to perform CO2 fixation in a different part of the leaf from the rest of the Calvin cycle, preventing photorespiration and producing a four-carbon molecule as the first product of carbon fixation.

Aerobic Respiration

The process of breaking down glucose into ATP in the presence of oxygen, consisting of four stages: glycolysis, formation of acetyl-CoA, the Krebs cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation (the electron transport chain + chemiosmosis).

Glycolysis

The first stage of aerobic respiration, where glucose is broken down into two three-carbon molecules called pyruvic acid, resulting in the net production of two molecules of ATP and two molecules of NADH.

Formation of Acetyl-CoA

The second stage of aerobic respiration, where pyruvic acid is transported to the mitochondrion and converted to acetyl-coenzymeA (acetyl-CoA) and CO2 is released, producing two molecules of NADH.

Krebs Cycle

The third stage of aerobic respiration, also known as the citric acid cycle, where each molecule of acetyl-CoA combines with oxaloacetate to form citric acid, which is then converted to several other molecules, producing 1 ATP, 3 NADH, and 1 FADH2 per turn of the cycle.

Oxidative Phosphorylation

The fourth

Anaerobic Respiration

A type of respiration that occurs when oxygen is not available, causing the electron transport chain to stop working and the mitochondrial production of acetyl-CoA and the Krebs cycle to cease, but glycolysis can continue to run.

Fermentation

A process that occurs in emergencies when oxygen is not available, where pyruvate turns into either lactic acid or ethanol, which are toxic at high concentrations.

Yeast

A type of organism that undergoes fermentation and produces ethanol and carbon dioxide.

Lactic Acid

A byproduct of fermentation that is produced by some bacteria and muscle cells during anaerobic respiration.

Enzymes

Biological catalysts that speed up reactions by lowering activation energy and helping the transition state to form.

Catalyst

Something that speeds up a reaction.

Enzyme Specificity

Each enzyme catalyzes only one kind of reaction.

Substrate

The molecule targeted by an enzyme in an enzymatic reaction.

ATP

Adenosine Triphosphate, a molecule that provides energy for cellular processes.

Cellular Respiration

The process of breaking down sugar to produce ATP.

Autotrophs

Organisms that can produce their own food through photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis

The process by which autotrophs convert light energy into chemical energy in the form of sugar.

Heterotrophs

Organisms that obtain their food by consuming other organisms.

Glucose

A simple sugar that is an important source of energy for living organisms.

Who was the first to discover DNA and what did he call it?

Friedrich Miescher discovered DNA in 1869 and called it 'Nuclein.'

What was Phoebus Levene's contribution to the understanding of DNA?

In 1910, he determined the nucleotide structure, which includes a base, sugar, and phosphate group, though his hypothesis about DNA structure was incorrect.

What is the Transformation Principle as discovered in the Griffith Experiment of 1928?

The Transformation Principle is that there is a non-living chemical substance capable of transforming bacteria.

What is Chargaff's Rule?

Chargaff's Rule states that the percent of Adenine (A) approximately equals the percent of Thymine (T) and the percent of Guanine (G) approximately equals the percent of Cytosine (C).

What is the primary function of RNA polymerase during transcription?

RNA polymerase unzips the DNA and synthesizes a complementary strand of RNA in the 5' to 3' direction.

Explain the difference between gene mutations and chromosome mutations.

Gene mutations involve changes in the DNA sequence of a specific gene, while chromosome mutations involve deletions, duplications, or reorganizations of whole chromosomes.

What does the lac operon model illustrate?

The lac operon model illustrates how the presence of a substrate (lactose) can induce the expression of genes that break down lactose.

How do eukaryotic regulatory mechanisms differ from prokaryotic regulation?

Eukaryotic regulation involves complex processes like transcriptional control, post-transcriptional control, and translational control, whereas prokaryotic regulation is simpler and often relies on operators and repressors.

What effect do telomeres have on cellular lifespan?

Longer telomeres are associated with a longer cellular lifespan, as they protect chromosome ends from degradation.

What is the purpose of CRISPR/Cas9 technology?

CRISPR/Cas9 technology is used to edit genes by allowing scientists to modify DNA at specific locations for research or therapeutic purposes.

What is condensation?

Condensation is the process by which water vapor in the air cools and changes back into liquid water.

What is precipitation?

Precipitation is any form of water, liquid or solid, that falls from the atmosphere and reaches the ground.

What is collection in the water cycle?

Collection refers to the accumulation of water in rivers, lakes, and oceans after it falls as precipitation.

What role do clouds play in the water cycle?

Clouds form when water vapor condenses in the atmosphere, playing a crucial role in precipitation.

What is evaporation?

Evaporation is the process where liquid water is transformed into water vapor due to heat.