biology - genetics + dna vocab

activator

transcription factor that increases the rate of transcription when it binds to a promoter or enhancer

anticodon

in a tRNA, set of three nucleotides that base-pairs with an mRNA codon

bacteriophage

virus that infects bacteria

base-pair substitution

type of mutation in which a single base pair changes

codon

in an mRNA, a nucleotide base triplet that codes for an amino acid or stop signal during translation

deletion

mutation in which one or more nucleotides are lost

differentiation

process by which cells become specialized during development; occurs as different cells in an embryo begin to use different subsets of their DNA

DNA ligase

enzyme that seals gaps or breaks in double-stranded DNA

DNA polymerase

enzyme that carries out DNA replication; uses a DNA template to assemble a complementary strand of DNA

DNA replication

process by which a cell duplicates its DNA before it divides

epigenetic

refers to potentially heritable mechanisms that stably alter gene expression without changing the DNA sequence

exon

nucleotide sequence that remains in the RNA after post-transcriptional modification

gene

chromosomal DNA sequence that encodes an RNA or protein product

gene expression

multistep process by which the information in a gene guides assembly of an RNA or protein product; transcription produces RNA, translation produces proteins.

genome

an organism’s complete set of genetic material

homeotic gene

type of master gene; its expression triggers formation of a specific body part during development

insertion

mutation in which one or more nucleotides become inserted into DNA

intron

nucleotide sequence that intervenes between exons and is removed during post-transcriptional modification

master gene

gene encoding a product that affects the expression of many other genes

mutation

permanent change in a chromosome’s DNA sequence

operator

part of an operon; a DNA binding site for a repressor

operon

group of genes together with a promoter-operator DNA sequence that controls their transcription

primer

short, single strand of DNA or RNA that serves as an attachment point for DNA polymerase

promoter

a short DNA sequence that serves as a binding site for RNA polymerase

repressor

transcription factor that slows or stops transcription

RNA polymerase

enzyme that carries out transcription

semiconservative replication

describes the process of DNA replication in which one strand of each copy of a DNA molecule is new, and the other strand is from the original DNA

transcription

process in which enzymes assemble an RNA using a strand of DNA as a template

transcription factor

regulatory protein that binds to DNA and influences transcription (ex. an activator or repressor)

translation

process in which the protein-building instructions in an mRNA guide the assembly of a polypeptide