Nucleotides, Nucleic Acids, Gene Expression & Recombinant DNA Technology

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts in nucleotides, nucleic acids, gene expression, and recombinant DNA technology.

Genetic Engineering

A process used to introduce desirable traits into organisms, including plants and bacteria.

Gene Therapy

A technique for correcting defective genes responsible for disease development.

Vectors

Carrier molecules, such as adenoviruses, used to deliver genes into cells.

Plasmid

A small, circular piece of DNA commonly used in genetic engineering.

RNA Polymerase

An enzyme that synthesizes RNA from a DNA template during transcription.

Capping

The addition of a methyl-Guanosine cap at the 5' end of eukaryotic mRNA.

Splicing

The process of removing introns from pre-mRNA to produce a mature mRNA.

Restriction Enzymes

Proteins that cut DNA at specific sequences, commonly used in cloning.

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)

A technique used to amplify small segments of DNA, creating millions of copies.

Operon

A cluster of genes under the control of a single promoter, functioning as a unit in prokaryotic gene regulation.

Chargaff's Rule

In DNA, the quantity of adenine equals thymine, and the quantity of guanine equals cytosine.

Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)

A nucleotide that carries energy within the cell.

Nucleosides

Molecules consisting of a sugar and a nitrogenous base, without phosphates.

Transcription Terminator

The sequence at which RNA polymerase stops transcribing and releases the RNA transcript.

DNA Ligase

An enzyme that seals gaps in the sugar-phosphate backbone of DNA.

Exonuclease

An enzyme that removes nucleotide bases one at a time from the end of a DNA segment.

Hydrogen Bonds

Weak bonds that stabilize the base pairing between adenine and thymine, and guanine and cytosine in DNA.

Nucleotides

The building blocks of nucleic acids, composed of a sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.

Central Dogma of Genetics

The flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to protein.

Genome Editing

A method allowing for precise alterations to the DNA of a cell.

Hychromic Shift

Increase in absorbance of DNA at UV light due to denaturation.