Chapter 15 - Genes and Proteins

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering the Central Dogma, transcription mechanisms, eukaryotic promoter regulation, and gene expression based on Chapter 15: Genes and Proteins.

Central Dogma of Biology

The principle describing the flow of genetic information in cells, in which DNA is transcribed into RNA, and RNA is translated into protein.

Transcription

The process by which a cell copies a specific sequence of DNA into RNA.

Translation

The cellular process where ribosomes decode an RNA sequence to build a functional protein.

Three Steps of Transcription

The three consecutive stages of RNA synthesis: initiation, elongation, and termination.

Cellular Protein Production

The synthesis of specific proteins carried out by cells in response to emerging cellular needs.

Aquaporin Channels

Membrane proteins that cells produce to regulate water transport across the plasma membrane.

Human Nuclear Nucleotide Count

The approximately $6\text{ billion}$ nucleotides contained in the nucleus of most human cells.

Human Gene Count

The approximately $20{,}000$ genes, or protein designs, distributed among the $6\text{ billion}$ nucleotides in the human nucleus.

Gene

A specific sequence of DNA nucleotides that serves as a design or instruction manual for making a protein.

Promoter

A specific region of DNA located upstream of a gene where transcription factors and RNA polymerase II bind to initiate transcription.

Transcription Factors

Proteins that identify and locate specific genes in the nucleus by binding to their promoter regions.

RNA Polymerase II

The enzyme that binds to the promoter region after transcription factors assemble to transcribe mRNA; by itself, it does not recognize what to copy.

General Transcription Factors (TFII)

A group of multiple transcription factors (including TFIIA, TFIIB, TFIID, TFIIE, TFIIF, and TFIIH) that interact with RNA polymerase II to assemble the transcription complex at the promoter.

TATA Box

A conserved promoter DNA sequence recognized and bound by transcription factors (such as TBP/TFIID) during eukaryotic transcription initiation.

Enhancer

A regulatory DNA sequence where activator proteins bind to stimulate gene transcription.

Activators

Regulatory proteins that bind to enhancer regions and activator binding sites to stimulate gene transcription.

+1 Transcription Start Site

The exact nucleotide position on the DNA strand where RNA Polymerase II begins synthesizing RNA.

Initiation (Transcription)

The first step of transcription where transcription factors and RNA polymerase II assemble at the promoter of the DNA double helix.

Elongation (Transcription)

The second step of transcription where RNA polymerase II traverses the DNA template strand and synthesizes the complementary mRNA transcript.

Termination (Transcription)

The final step of transcription where synthesis concludes upon reaching the termination site, releasing the newly synthesized mRNA.