Molecular Biology of the Gene

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89 Terms

1

Molecular biology

is the study of heredity at the molecular level.

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nucleotides

DNA and RNA are nucleic acids consisting of long chains (polymers) of chemical units (monomers) called…

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A nucleotide is composed of a 

  • nitrogenous base,

  • five-carbon sugar, and

  • phosphate group. 

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 DNA polynucleotide

One of the two strands of DNA is a….

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 sugar-phosphate backbone

Nucleotides are joined to one another by a…

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DNA nucleotide has a different nitrogen-containing base:

  • adenine (A),

  • cytosine (C),

  • thymine (T), and

  • guanine (G).

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RNA (ribonucleic acid)

  • uses the sugar ribose (instead of deoxyribose in DNA) and 

  • has a nitrogenous base uracil (U) instead of thymine.

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Watson

deduced the basic shape of DNA to be a helix (spiral) with a uniform diameter and the nitrogenous bases located above one another like a stack of dinner plates.

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James D. Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins.

 1962, the Nobel Prize was awarded to…

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Rosalind Franklin 

probably would have received the prize as well but for her death from cancer in 1958. 

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The Watson-Crick model

 gave new meaning to the words genes and chromosomes.

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semiconservative model

DNA replication follows a….

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Each new DNA helix has…

one old strand with one new strand

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 origins of replication

Replication of a DNA molecule begins at particular sites called…

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Proteins that initiate DNA replication

  • attach to the DNA at the origin of replication and

  • separate the two strands of the double helix.

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“bubbles.” 

Replication then proceeds in both directions, creating replication…

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 5′ to 3′ direction

DNA replication occurs in the…

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  • 3′ to 5′ template

  • Replication is continuous on the…

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  • DNA polymerases 

  • add nucleotides only to the 3′ end of the strand, never to the 5′ end. 

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  • 5′ to 3′ template

  • Replication is discontinuous on the…, forming short Okazaki fragments.

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  • DNA ligase,

  • An enzyme, called links (or ligates) the pieces together into a single DNA strand. 

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DNA damaged by harmful radiation and toxic chemicals

DNA polymerases and DNA ligase also repair…

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genotype and phenotype. 

Proteins are the links between…

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Genes 

 provide the instructions for making specific proteins

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Transcription 

is the synthesis of RNA under the direction of DNA

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Translation

is the synthesis of proteins under the direction of RNA.

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Provides a code for constructing a protein

The sequence of nucleotides in DNA …

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“language.”

  • Transcription rewrites the DNA code into RNA, using the same nucleotide…

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triplet code

The flow of information from gene to protein is based on a…

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codons

The genetic instructions for the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide chain are written in DNA and RNA as a series of nonoverlapping three-base “words” called…

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codon

Each amino acid is specified by a …

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64 codons

 …. are possible.

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one possible codon

Some amino acids have more than….

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genetic code

The… is the amino acid translations of each of the nucleotide triplets.

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Three nucleotides

… specify one amino acid.

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AUG codes

 for methionine and signals the start of transcription.

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Three “stop” codons

signal the end of translation (UAA, UAG, UGA).

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redundant

The genetic code is

  • with more than one codon for some amino acids,

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unambiguous

The genetic code is in that any codon for one amino acid does not code for any other amino acid

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nearly universal

The genetic code is in that the genetic code is shared by organisms from the simplest bacteria to the most complex plants and animals.

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Transcription initiation

involving the attachment of RNA
polymerase to the promoter and the start of RNA
synthesis,

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Transcription elongation

as the newly formed RNA strand
grows

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Transcription termination

when RNA polymerase reaches the
terminator DNA and the polymerase molecule
detaches from the newly made RNA strand and
the gene.

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Messenger RNA (mRNA)

  • encodes amino acid sequences and

  • conveys genetic messages from DNA to the translation machinery of the cell. 

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same place

In prokaryotes, this occurs in the…that mRNA is made. 

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exit

 in eukaryotes, mRNA must … the nucleus via nuclear pores to enter the cytoplasm.

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introns, exons

Eukaryotic mRNA has interrupting sequences that separate the coding regions.

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RNA splicing 

removes introns (intervening sequences) and joins exons (expressed sequences) to produce a continuous coding sequence

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A cap and tail of extra nucleotides are added to the ends of the mRNA to

  • facilitate the export of the mRNA from the nucleus, 

  • protect the mRNA from degradation by cellular enzymes, and 

  • help ribosomes bind to the mRNA.

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not translated into protein.

The cap and tail themselves are …

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Transfer RNA (tRNA)

 molecules function as an interpreter, converting the genetic message of mRNA into the language of proteins.

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anticodon

Transfer RNA molecules perform this interpreter task by

picking up the appropriate amino acid and

using a special triplet of bases, called an , to recognize the appropriate codons in the mRNA.

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 ribosome

Translation occurs on the surface of the …

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ribosomal RNAs

  • Each subunit is composed of …and proteins.

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  • mRNA and tRNAs.

  • Ribosomes have binding sites for…

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inactivate bacterial ribosomes

Certain antibiotic drugs can…while leaving eukaryotic ribosomes unaffected.

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These drugs, such as tetracycline and streptomycin,

….are used to combat bacterial infections

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Translation

  1. initiation,

  2. elongation, and

  3. termination.

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  • mRNA,

  • a tRNA bearing the first amino acid, and

  • the two subunits of a ribosome.

 Initiation brings together…

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start codon.

  1. An mRNA molecule binds to a small ribosomal subunit, and a special initiator tRNA binds to mRNA at the…

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start codon

  • The…reads AUG and codes for methionine.

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anticodon

The first tRNA has the UAC.

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large ribosomal subunit

A …joins the small subunit, allowing the ribosome to function.

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P site

The first tRNA occupies the… which will hold the growing polypeptide.

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A site

The is available to receive the next amino-acid-bearing tRNA.

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Elongation

 adds amino acids to the polypeptide chain until a stop codon terminates translation

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mRNA codon in the A site of the ribosome.

The anticodon of an incoming tRNA molecule, carrying its amino acid, pairs with the …

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a new peptide bond to the amino acid carried by the tRNA in the A site.

The polypeptide separates from the tRNA in the P site and attaches by….

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  1. tRNA (which has the growing polypeptide) from the A site to the P site. 

  1. The P site tRNA (now lacking an amino acid) leaves the ribosome, and the ribosome translocates (moves) the remaining …

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stop codon,

Elongation continues until the termination stage of translation, when

  • the ribosome reaches a…

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 DNA to RNA to protein

The flow of genetic information is from …

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 in the nucleus, and the messenger RNA is processed before it travels to the cytoplasm.

In eukaryotic cells, transcription occurs….

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in the cytoplasm

In prokaryotes, transcription occurs…

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Translation can be divided into four steps, all of which occur in the cytoplasm:

  1. amino acid attachment,

  2. initiation of polypeptide synthesis,

  3. elongation, and

  4. termination.

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mutation

A … is any change in the nucleotide sequence of DNA.

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Mutations can involve …

large chromosomal regions or 

just a single nucleotide pair.

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Base substitutions

…. may

have no effect at all

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nonsense mutation

change an amino acid into a stop codon, producing a…

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 frameshift mutation

Nucleotide insertions or deletions of one or more nucleotides in a gene may

cause a… which alters the reading frame (triplet grouping) of the genetic message,lead to significant changes in amino acid sequence, and

produce a nonfunctional polypeptide.

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Causes of frameshift mutations:

A deletion from DNA 

Mutation in which one or more base pairs are lost.

An insertion mutation can also alter polypeptides.

Mutation in which one or more base pairs are added.

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deletion

A from DNA 

Mutation in which one or more base pairs are lost.

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insertion

An ….mutation can also alter polypeptides.

Mutation in which one or more base pairs are added.

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base-pair-substitution,

In… a nucleotide and its partner are replaced by a different base pair.

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base-pair substitution

A is a type of mutation in which a single base-pair changes.

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Base pair substitution

 the replacement of one base by another

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substitution of valine for glutamic acid

Sickle-cell disease results from a…

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Mutagenesis

is the production of mutations.

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Mutations can be caused

spontaneous errors that occur during DNA replication or recombination or

by mutagens, which include high-energy radiation such as X-rays and ultraviolet light and chemicals.

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polymers of nucleotides

DNA and RNA are…

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