Biology Final Review

Spliceosome

An enzymatic protein complex in the nucleus that processes the Pre-mRNA into the final mRNA containing only introns.

Transcription factors

Regulatory proteins that affect the level of transcription in eukaryotes. It enhances the binding of RNA polymerase to the correct area on the promoter. It also binds to specific sequences of DNA called transcription enhancers that are often thousands of base pairs upstream of the promoter.

Transcription enhancer

transcription factors also bind to specific sequences of DNA called _________ that are often thousands of base pairs upstream of the promoter.

Morphogenesis

The process of the development of tissues and organs

Homeotic genes

Regulatory genes that determine the overall body organization and some of the first genes activated in the zygote.

Cell differentiation

Occurs when cells become specialized to perform different functions.

Homeobox

A 180 bp sequence that occurs in many regulatory genes that codes for proteins that act as transcription factors and share a characteristic protein fold structure that binds DNA.

Metastasis

When cancer cells spread to other parts of the body.

Benign tumor

Occurs when cells grow uncontrollably but stay within the mass and don't spread (don't metastasize)

Carcinogen

A substance that can induce or promote cancer

Teratogen

A substance that causes mutations in the sex cells and are passed onto the offspring

Tumor suppressor genes

Genes that suppress cell division and reduce tumor formation

Inversions

Occur when a DNA sequence flips around on the chromosome

Translocation

Occur when one chromosome part breaks off and attaches to another chromosome.

Substitutions, addition, or deletion

A point mutation single nucleotide

SNP

A single nucleotide polymorphism that is often caused by a point mutation

10 million

There are ____ SNP's in the human genome are used for trait and personnel identification purposes

Deletions

Describe permanent loss of a DNA sequence or base pair.

Nondisjunctions

The unequal assortment of chromosomes during meiosis.

Polygenic traits

Traits that are controlled by several genes

Codominace

When both alleles are expressed and the phenotype is heterozygous.

Incomplete dominance

When different alleles produce an intermediate phenotype

Pedigree

A diagram that shows how a trait is inherited over several generations.

Carriers

Individuals that can pass a diseased allele onto their offspring. The disease allele in carries is always recessive.

Francis Collins

Discovered the Cystic fibrosis gene in 1993

Thomas Morgan Hunt

Discovered that genes that are often inherited together are located closely together on the same chromosome coining the term "linked genes."

Alfred Sturtevant

Developed the first chromosomal map in 1913 and defined a map unit.

Francis Collins

Lead the public effort, announced the sequencing of the human genome

Craig Venter

Support Francis Collin, announced the sequencing of the human genome

Somatic cell mutations

Mutations that occur in an organism's body cells and can affect the organism.

Germ cell mutation

Mutations that occur in an organism's gametes and can be passed to the next generation

Lethal mutations

Mutations that cause death of the organism, often before birth.

Variable number tandem repeats

Short repeated sequences of DNA that occur between genes and are often used in personal identification cases (ATGATGAGTAGT)

Restriction enzymes

Proteins that recognize specific DNA sequences and cut the DNA within that sequence.

6 pairs

How many pairs do the sequences have? It cuts staggered across the six recognize specific DNA sequences and cut the DNA within that sequence.

Vectors

DNA molecules used as a vehicle to artificially carry foreign genetic material into another cell, where it can be replicated and/or expressed (e.g., plasmid, cosmid, Lambda phages)

Primers

Specifically designed single stranded DNA sequences of 20-30 base pairs long

Gel electrophoresis

Used to separate and visualize fragments of DNA, RNA, or proteins.

Polymerase Chain Reaction

A DNA analysis technique that allows exponential amplification of short segments of DNA

Genetic engineering

The process of altering the genomic material of the cells to make a new substance

BLAST (basic local alignment search tool)

The largest bioinformatics database in the world.

Promeotics

The study of all an organism's proteins at one time including their identities, structures, interactions, and abundances

Biologics

Protein based drugs. Their effects tend to be much more precisely targeted than chemical-based drugs and thus have fewer side effects, while being more efficacious.

Bioinformatics

The branch of computer science we use to analyze the astronomical amount of DNA, RNA and protein sequence data being generated by researchers

CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)

The family of DNA sequences found in the genomes of prokaryotic organisms such as bacteria and archaea that used to resist phage infection

Cas9 (CRISPR associated protein 9)

An enzyme that uses CRISPR sequences as a guide to recognize and cleave specific strands of DNA that are complementary to the CRISPR sequence

Gene expression

The activation or "turning-on" of a gene that results in the transcription and production of mRNA.

Promoter

A segment of DNA that is recognized by the enzyme RNA polymerase during the initiation of transcription

Operator

A segment of DNA that serves as a switch controlling the ability of RNA polymerase to proceed with transcription. It is usually binding sites for repressor proteins

Repressor

A protein that inhibits transcription by binding to the operator and blocking the RNA polymerase from transcribing the structural genes. When this protein binds to ____, transcription turned of

Inducer

a molecule that initiates transcription, and thus, gene expression. In the lac operon, lactose is this molecule is called a/an _____

Gene clusters and a single long polycistron mRNA

Most prokaryotes have their genes arranged in operons containing

Proteases

Enzymes that break peptide bonds in proteins in specific sequences much the same way restriction enzymes cut DNA at specific sequences

True

All eukaryotic genes have their own individual promoter

No

Do prokaryotic genes have their own individual promoter?

Circular chromosomes/ Linear chromosome

Prokaryotes often have____, while eukaryotes often have _____

Histones

Eukaryotic DNA is organized as fibers of condensed DNA around specialized proteins

Euchromatin

The uncoiled form of the DNA

Introns/Extons

_______ are part of the structural genes that are transcribed into RNA, but not translated into proteins. They are spliced out of the final transcript in the nucleus, with only the ____ being retained for protein synthesis.

Exons

The sections of the structural genes that are transcribed and translated into protein.

Francois Jacob and Jacques Monod

French scientists who won the Nobel prize in 1965 for their discovery of how genes and their regulation control the metabolism of lactose sugar (found in milk) in the bacterium Escherichia coli.