BIO1011 Week 10 Coding Life: Synthesis of Proteins

Vocabulary flashcards for key terms related to protein synthesis and DNA manipulation.

Translation

The process by which a cell reads a mature mRNA sequence to form a polypeptide.

This complex process occurs in the ribosomes, where tRNA molecules match codons on the mRNA with specific amino acids. The start codon (usually AUG) initiates the process, and the ribosome moves along the mRNA, adding amino acids to the growing polypeptide chain. The process terminates when a stop codon (UAA, UAG, or UGA) is encountered.

Reading Frame

The order of nucleotide triplets in a nucleic acid molecule that specify the sequence of amino acids in protein synthesis.

Start Codon

A specific codon (usually AUG) that signals the start of translation.

Stop Codon

A codon that signals the termination of translation (UAA, UAG, UGA).

Ribosome

A complex cellular organelle responsible for protein synthesis, consisting of small and large subunits.

A-P-E sites

The aminoacyl (A), peptidyl (P), and exit (E) sites on the ribosome where tRNA molecules bind during translation.

Mutation

A change in the nucleotide sequence of DNA.

Point Mutation

A mutation affecting only one or very few nucleotides in a gene sequence.

Insertion Mutation

A type of mutation involving the addition of one or more nucleotide pairs to a gene.

Deletion Mutation

A mutation in which one or more pairs of nucleotides are removed from a gene.

Frame-shift Mutation

A mutation caused by the insertion or deletion of a number of nucleotides that is not a multiple of three, resulting in a shift in the reading frame.

Silent Mutation

A mutation that does not alter the amino acid sequence of the resulting protein.

Missense Mutation

A point mutation in which a single nucleotide change results in a codon that codes for a different amino acid.

Nonsense Mutation

A mutation that results in a premature stop codon, leading to a truncated and often non-functional protein.

Recombinant DNA Technology

A set of techniques for manipulating DNA, including restriction enzymes, cloning vectors (plasmids), and bacteria like E. coli, to create modified DNA.

Cloning Vector

A small piece of DNA, taken from a virus, a plasmid, or the cell of a higher organism, that can be stably maintained in an organism, and into which a foreign DNA fragment can be inserted for cloning purposes.

Restriction Enzyme

An enzyme that cuts DNA at a specific sequence of nucleotides.

Gene Cloning

The process of producing multiple identical copies of a specific gene.

mRNA (messenger RNA)

RNA molecule that carries genetic information from DNA to the ribosome for protein synthesis.

tRNA (transfer RNA)

RNA molecule that helps decode a messenger RNA (mRNA) sequence into a protein.

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase

An enzyme that attaches the appropriate amino acid onto its tRNA.

Codon

A sequence of three nucleotides that together form a unit of genetic code in a DNA or RNA molecule.

Anticodon

A sequence of three nucleotides forming a unit of genetic code in a transfer RNA molecule, corresponding to a complementary codon in messenger RNA.