Using Microbiology to Discover the Secrets of Life

These flashcards cover vocabulary and key concepts related to the discovery of DNA and its role in genetics, including historical experiments, the structure of DNA, and the processes of transcription and translation.

Nucleic Acid

A complex substance present in living cells, consisting of DNA or RNA.

DNA

The basic building block of nucleic acids, composed of a five-carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.

Chromosomal Theory of Inheritance

The theory proposing that chromosomes carry the genetic material responsible for inheritance.

Mendel's Laws

Principles derived from Gregor Mendel's experiments with pea plants, describing how traits are inherited.

Hybridization

The process of mating two true-breeding individuals with different traits to observe characteristics in offspring.

Acetabularia

A single-celled alga used by Joachim Hämmerling in experiments to establish the role of the nucleus in heredity.

Transposons

Mobile genetic elements that can move within a genome and regulate gene expression.

Griffith's Transformation Experiment

The first demonstration of bacterial transformation, showing that hereditary information could be transferred between bacterial cells.

Avery-McLeod-McCarty Experiment

An experiment that identified DNA as the transforming principle responsible for genetic transfer.

Hershey-Chase Experiment

A study that confirmed DNA is the genetic material by using radiolabeled phages to trace the inheritance of DNA.

DNA replication

The process by which a cell makes a duplicate copy of its DNA before cell division.

RNA

Ribonucleic acid, a molecule that plays several vital roles in the coding, decoding, regulation, and expression of genes.

Transcription

The process of synthesizing RNA from a DNA template.

Codon

A three-nucleotide sequence on mRNA that codes for a specific amino acid.

Antiparallel

Refers to the opposite orientation of the two strands of a DNA double helix.

Promoter

A specific region of DNA where RNA polymerase binds to initiate transcription.

Splicing

The process of removing introns from pre-mRNA and connecting exons to form mature mRNA.

Polypeptide

A chain of amino acids that forms proteins after folding and modifications.

Degeneracy of the Genetic Code

The phenomenon where multiple codons can code for the same amino acid.

Polymerase

An enzyme that synthesizes long chains or polymers of nucleic acids.

Transfer RNA (tRNA)

A type of RNA that brings amino acids to the ribosome during translation.

Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)

A molecular component of a ribosome that helps facilitate protein synthesis.