32 Questions
What are the main classes of nucleic acids?
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA)
What is the role of RNA in living cells?
It plays an important role in the making of proteins
What are the building blocks of nucleic acids called?
Nucleotides
Which nitrogen-containing bases are categorized as purines?
Adenine (A) and guanine (G)
What does DNA constitute?
The genetic material in all free-living organisms and most viruses
What does nucleic acid consist of?
A nitrogen-containing aromatic base attached to a pentose sugar, which is in turn attached to a phosphate group
Which bases are found in all nucleic acids?
A, C, T, G
What is the difference between the pentose sugar in DNA and RNA?
The absence of a hydroxyl group on the 2′ carbon in DNA
What is the structure of normal DNA called?
B-helix
What process involves breaking the hydrogen bonds in DNA, allowing the two strands to separate?
Denaturation or melting
Which class of enzymes recognize and cleave specific sequences in DNA?
Restriction endonucleases
What are the building blocks of RNA?
Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine, Uracil
What type of nucleases degrade DNA selectively from the end of the chain?
Exonucleases
What is the role of RNA in a cell?
Conversion of genetic information into proteins
What is the role of restriction endonucleases in DNA manipulation?
Producing small fragments that characterize genes and genomes
What is the process called when DNA reassociates after denaturation?
Renaturation
DNA is the master blueprint for life and constitutes the genetic material in all free-living organisms and most ______.
viruses
RNA is the genetic material of certain viruses, but it is also found in all living cells, where it plays an important role in certain processes such as the making of ______.
proteins
Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogen-containing aromatic base attached to a pentose sugar, which is in turn attached to a ______ group.
phosphate
Each nucleic acid contains four of five possible nitrogen-containing bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), thymine (T), and ______ (U).
uracil
A and G are categorized as ______, and C, T, and U are collectively called pyrimidines.
purines
Nucleic acids are polynucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogen-containing aromatic base attached to a ______ sugar, which is in turn attached to a phosphate group.
pentose
DNA contains the bases A, C, G, and ______
T
RNA contains the bases A, C, G, and ______
U
The pentose sugar in DNA is 2′-deoxyribose and in RNA it is ______
ribose
The absence of a hydroxyl group (―OH) on the 2′ carbon of the sugar ring differentiates 2′-deoxyribose from ______
ribose
The phosphate group connects successive sugar residues by bridging the 5′-hydroxyl group on one sugar to the 3′-hydroxyl group of the next sugar in the ______
chain
The double helical structure of normal DNA takes a right-handed form called the ______
B-helix
Heating DNA in solution easily breaks the hydrogen bonds, allowing the two strands to separate—a process called ______ or melting
denaturation
Nucleases are enzymes that hydrolytically cleave the phosphodiester backbone of ______
DNA
RNA is a single-stranded nucleic acid polymer of the four nucleotides A, C, G, and ______
U
RNA is the first intermediate in converting the information from DNA into proteins essential for the working of a ______
cell
Learn about nucleic acids, the main information-carrying molecules of the cell, and the techniques of nucleic acid extraction and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This quiz covers the basics of nucleic acids and their importance in determining inherited characteristics, as well as the practical methods of extraction and amplification through PCR.
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