DNA Structure and Replication

A collection of flashcards covering key concepts related to DNA structure, its components, base pairing rules, replication enzymes, and RNA.

Nucleotide

The basic building block of DNA, consisting of a sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.

Double Helix

The twisted ladder structure of DNA, which consists of two strands that wind around each other.

Nucleotide

The basic building block of DNA, consisting of a sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.

Double Helix

The twisted ladder structure of DNA, which consists of two strands that wind around each other.

Hydrogen Bonds

The type of bond that holds the two strands of DNA together between the nitrogenous bases.

Chargaff's Rules

The observation that in DNA, the amount of adenine equals thymine and the amount of guanine equals cytosine.

Twenty Percent Guanine

If a sample of DNA contains 20% guanine, it must also contain 20% cytosine and 30% adenine.

DNA Helicase

The enzyme responsible for unwinding and separating the strands of DNA during replication.

DNA Polymerase

The enzyme responsible for synthesizing the new strand of DNA by adding complementary nucleotides.

Differences between DNA and RNA

1) DNA is double-stranded, while RNA is single-stranded. 2) DNA contains thymine, whereas RNA contains uracil. 3) DNA has deoxyribose sugar, while RNA has ribose sugar.

Transcription

The process by which the information in DNA is copied into messenger RNA (mRNA).