DNA, RNA, and Protein Synthesis

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.

This quiz covers key concepts of DNA, RNA, and the processes involved in protein synthesis. Explore the experiments of Griffith, Avery, and Hershey and Chase, and understand the significance of Chargaff's Rule and the structure of nucleotides. Test your knowledge on the molecular biology of genetics!