Cell Cycle, Central Dogma, and Protein Structure

Flashcards covering vocabulary terms across cell cycle, mitosis, central dogma, transcription, translation, and protein structure levels.

Allele

Two versions of the same gene.

S phase

The cell cycle phase occurring prior to mitosis where DNA is replicated.

Metaphase

A stage of mitosis in the cell cycle that precedes anaphase.

Anaphase

The stage of mitosis occurring between metaphase and telophase.

Telophase

The stage of mitosis that precedes cytokinesis.

Cytokinesis

The final stage of cell division following telophase.

Cone cells

Eye cells in which the opsin gene is expressed.

Muscle cell

A specialized cell that helps you move and expresses the myosin gene.

Skin cell

A cell that makes skin and expresses the melanin gene.

Switch

A region of DNA upstream of the promoter that regulates gene expression in specific cell types.

Promoter

A region of DNA located between the switch and the transcribed region where transcription machinery binds.

RNA Polymerase

An enzyme protein that reads the DNA template strand from $3'$ to $5'$ to synthesize mRNA.

General transcription factors

Proteins found in every cell that assist RNA polymerase at the promoter to initiate transcription.

Activator

A specific protein that binds to DNA switches to affect different cell types and initiate transcription.

Non-homologous chromosomes

Chromosomes that do not pair during meiosis and are found in every cell.

Template strand

The $3'$ to $5'$ DNA strand that RNA polymerase reads to synthesize mRNA.

Coding strand

The $5'$ to $3'$ DNA strand that matches the sequence of the synthesized mRNA (with U in mRNA substituting for T).

Adenine-Thymine base pair

A nitrogenous base pair in DNA held together by $2$ hydrogen bonds.

Guanine-Cytosine base pair

A nitrogenous base pair in DNA held together by $3$ hydrogen bonds.

Ribosome

The cellular structure where proteins are made, serving as the platform for translation.

Codon

A set of $3$ nucleotides in mRNA that codes for $1$ amino acid.

Start codon

The mRNA codon ($5'\text{-AUG-}3'$) where translation initiates, coding for methionine (Met).

UTR

Untranslated region; sequences on mRNA that are not translated into amino acids.

Translation initiation

The beginning of protein synthesis where mRNA is read in the $5'$ to $3'$ direction.

Central carbon

The central alpha carbon atom of an amino acid bound to a hydrogen, an N-terminus, a C-terminus, and a variable R group.

R group

The side-chain group of an amino acid that differs between each type of amino acid.

Peptide bond

A covalent bond formed between amino acids during dehydration synthesis, releasing a molecule of $H_2O$.

Primary protein structure

The linear order of amino acids in a protein sequence ($1^\bullet$ structure).

Secondary protein structure

Protein structure ($2^\bullet$ structure) stabilized by hydrogen bonds between backbone atoms.

Tertiary protein structure

Three-dimensional protein structure ($3^\bullet$ structure) driven by interactions between amino acid R-side-chains.

Quaternary protein structure

Protein structure ($4^\bullet$ structure) formed by the functional interaction between $2$ or more separate protein subunits.