DNA, RNA, and Protein Synthesis

Griffith: Discovered bacterial transformation studying pneumonia in mice.
Avery: Determined DNA was the genetic material, building on Griffith's work.
Hershey and Chase: Used radioactive isotopes (sulfur-35 and phosphorus-32) to label DNA and proteins in bacteriophages, proving DNA carries genetic information.
Sulfur-35: Radioactive isotope used to label proteins.
Phosphorus-32: Radioactive isotope used to label DNA.
Bacteriophage: A virus that infects bacteria.
Chargaff's Rule: A = T, and C = G; the amounts of adenine and thymine bases are equal and the amounts of cytosine and guanine bases are equal in DNA.
Nucleotide: The building block of DNA; made of a sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.
Nitrogenous Bases: Adenine (A), Guanine (G), Cytosine (C), and Thymine (T) (or Uracil in RNA).
Hydrogen Bonds: Weak bonds that hold base pairs together in DNA.
Phosphate: Forms the backbone of the DNA strand, linked to the deoxyribose sugar.
Deoxyribose: A five-carbon sugar in DNA.
Rosalind Franklin: Provided crucial X-ray diffraction images of DNA that Watson and Crick used to develop their double helix model.
Watson and Crick: Developed the double helix model of DNA structure.
Histones: Proteins around which DNA is tightly coiled in eukaryotic cells, forming nucleosomes.
Nucleosome: A structural unit of eukaryotic chromatin; DNA wound around histone proteins.
Helicase: An enzyme that unwinds the DNA double helix during replication.
Replication Fork: The Y-shaped region where DNA strands separate during replication.
DNA Polymerase: Enzyme that adds nucleotides to a DNA strand during replication and proofreads the DNA during replication.
RNA: A single-stranded nucleic acid containing ribose sugar and uracil instead of thymine.
mRNA (messenger RNA): Carries genetic information from DNA in the nucleus to the ribosome for protein synthesis.
tRNA (transfer RNA): Carries amino acids to the ribosome during protein synthesis, based on the mRNA codon.
rRNA (ribosomal RNA): Forms part of the ribosome, the site of protein synthesis.
Telomere: Repeating nucleotide sequences at the ends of chromosomes; protect genes from loss during replication.
Telomerase: Enzyme that maintains telomere length.
Transcription: The process of making RNA from a DNA template.
Translation: The process of making a protein from an mRNA template.
Codon: A sequence of three nucleotides that codes for a specific amino acid.
Promoter: Region of DNA where RNA polymerase binds to initiate transcription.
Introns: Non-coding regions of DNA within a gene.
Exons: Coding regions of DNA within a gene that are expressed.
Point Mutation: A single nucleotide change in the DNA sequence.
Duplication Mutation: A segment of DNA is copied multiple times.
Substitution Mutation: One nucleotide is replaced by another.
Deletion Mutation: One or more nucleotides are removed from the DNA sequence.
Deletion (chromosomal): A segment of a chromosome is lost.
Translocation: A segment of one chromosome moves to another chromosome.
Inversion: A segment of a chromosome is reversed.
Insertion Mutation: One or more nucleotides are added to the DNA sequence.
Frameshift Mutation: An insertion or deletion that shifts the reading frame (codon groups) during translation, often causing protein dysfunction.
Operon: A group of genes that are regulated together.
Operator Site: The region on DNA where a regulatory protein can bind to control gene expression.
TATA Box: A DNA sequence in eukaryotes that is a common promoter site.
Transcription Factors: Regulatory proteins that bind to DNA and influence the transcription of specific genes.
Hox Genes: Genes that control the body plan of an embryo.
Polyploidy: Having extra sets of chromosomes.
Genes: Segments of DNA that contain the code for proteins. Found on chromosomes.