ap bio unit 6

may 5th tommorow

What is the central dogma of molecular biology?

It describes the process of going from DNA to RNA to polypeptide.

What is the process of making a copy of DNA called?

Replication.

Where does DNA replication occur in eukaryotes?

In the nucleus.

Where does DNA replication occur in prokaryotes?

In the nucleoid.

What is the process of synthesizing RNA from DNA called?

Transcription.

What is the process of translating RNA into a polypeptide chain called?

Translation.

What is a retrovirus?

A virus with an RNA genome that uses reverse transcriptase to synthesize DNA from its RNA.

What are the nitrogenous bases found in DNA?

Adenine (A), Thymine (T), Cytosine (C), Guanine (G).

What are the nitrogenous bases found in RNA?

Adenine (A), Uracil (U), Cytosine (C), Guanine (G).

What is the structure of DNA?

DNA has a deoxyribose sugar, a phosphate group, and nitrogenous bases.

What are the building blocks of DNA?

Purines (A, G) and pyrimidines (T, C).

What are the base pairing rules in DNA?

A pairs with T (2 hydrogen bonds) and C pairs with G (3 hydrogen bonds).

What is the significance of hydrogen bonds in DNA?

The higher the number of hydrogen bonds, the higher the melting point.

What is the directionality of DNA synthesis?

DNA is synthesized from the 5' end to the 3' end.

What is the role of helicase in DNA replication?

Helicase unwinds the DNA strands by breaking hydrogen bonds.

What is the function of topoisomerase?

It relaxes supercoiling ahead of the replication fork.

What does primase do during DNA replication?

Primase synthesizes RNA primers necessary for DNA polymerase to initiate synthesis.

What is the role of DNA polymerase?

It synthesizes new strands of DNA on both the leading and lagging strands.

What does ligase do in DNA replication?

Ligase joins fragments on the lagging strand and seals the bonds.

What is the function of RNA polymerase?

It synthesizes mRNA molecules in the 5' to 3' direction using a DNA template.

What is a promoter in transcription?

The site where RNA polymerase binds to initiate transcription.

What is post-transcriptional modification?

The processing of RNA in eukaryotes before it is exported to the cytoplasm.

What is splicing in RNA processing?

The removal of introns from the pre-mRNA transcript.

What is the purpose of the poly-A tail in mRNA?

It inhibits degradation and facilitates export from the nucleus.

What are the three sites of a ribosome during translation?

A site (aminoacyl), P site (peptidyl), and E site (exit).

What is a point mutation?

A mutation affecting a single nucleotide base pair.

What is a silent mutation?

A mutation that does not change the amino acid sequence.

What is a missense mutation?

A mutation that results in a change from one amino acid to another.

What is a nonsense mutation?

A mutation that creates a premature stop codon.

What is a frameshift mutation?

A mutation caused by insertion or deletion of nucleotides that alters the reading frame.

What is an operon?

A gene regulation mechanism found in prokaryotes.

What is the default state of a repressible operon?

On, but it can be turned off when a specific molecule is abundant.

What is the default state of an inducible operon?

Off, but it can be turned on when a specific substrate is present.

What is gel electrophoresis?

A technique used to separate molecules based on size and charge.

What is DNA sequencing?

A method to determine the sequence of a DNA strand using radioactive nucleotides.