dna vocab

chromatin

loose, uncoiled strands of DNA

chromosome

tightly coiled form of DNA found during cell division; may look like a bar or X

gene

segment of DNA on a chromosome or on a strand of chromatin that codes for a specific protein

nucleotide

building blocks or monomers of DNA that when joined together form a DNA strand

deoxyribose sugar

one part of the nucleotide, makes up the sides of the DNA "ladder" along with phosphates

phosphate

one part of the nucleotide, makes up the sides of the ladder along with sugars

nitrogen base

the "steps" of the ladder that store the actual "code"

adenine

one of the four nitrogen bases; pairs with thymine

thymine

one of the four nitrogen bases; pairs with adenine

cytosine

one of the four nitrogen bases; pairs with guanine

guanine

one of the four nitrogen bases; pairs with cytosine

double helix

the twisted ladder shape of a DNA molecule

replication

the process of DNA copying itself

DNA

the nucleic acid responsible for storing the recipe for building proteins

genome

an entire set of instructions for building an organism; specifically the sequence of nitrogen bases of all the organism's chromosomes

DNA Polymerase

An enzyme responsible for adding new nucleotides to a replicating DNA strand

Helicase

An enzyme that unzips the DNA molecule during replication