Biochemistry - Ch 03 - Lecture 4 - Nucleotides And Nucleic Acids (Vocab)

Front 1

Define:

Antiparallel

Back 1

Running in opposite directions

Front 2

Define:

Central Dogma of Molecular Biology

Back 2

The paradigm that DNA directs its own replication as well as its transcription to RNA, which is then translated into a polypeptide.

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

Front 3

Define:

Chargaff's Rules

Back 3

The observation, first made by Erwin Chargaff that DNA has equal numbers of adenine and thymine residues and equal numbers of guanine and cytosine residues.

A's = T's

C's = G's

Front 4

Define:

Chromosome

Back 4

The complex of protein and a single DNA molecule that comprises some or all of an organism's genome.

Front 5

Define:

Dimer

Back 5

An assembly consisting of two monomeric units (protomers).

Front 6

Define:

DNA

Back 6

Deoxyribonucleic acid.

A polymer of deoxynucleotides whose sequence of bases encodes genetic information in all living cells.

Front 7

Define:

Major Groove

Back 7

The groove on a DNA double helix onto which the glycosidic bonds of a base pair form an angle of >180⁰.

In B-DNA, this groove is wider than the minor groove.

Front 8

Define:

Minor Groove

Back 8

The groove on a DNA double helix onto which the glycosidic bonds of a base pair form an angle of <180⁰.

In B-DNA, this groove is narrower than the major groove.

Front 9

Define:

Monomer

Back 9

(1) A structural unit from which a polymer is built up.

(2) A single subunit or protomer of a multisubunit protein.

Front 10

Define:

mRNA

Back 10

messenger RNA

A ribonucleic acid whose sequence is complementary to that of a protein-coding gene in DNA. In the ribosome, mRNA directs the polymerization of amino acids to form a polypeptide with the corresponding sequence.

Front 11

Define:

Nucleic Acid

Back 11

A polymer of nucleotide residues. The major nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA).

Also known as a polynucleotide.

Front 12

Define:

Nucleoside

Back 12

A compound consisting of a nitrogenous base and a five-carbon sugar (ribose or deoxyribose) in N-glycosidic linkage.

Front 13

Define:

Nucleotide

Back 13

A compound consisting of a nucleoside esterified to one or more phosphate groups. Nucleotides are the monomeric units of nucleic acids.

Front 14

Define:

Phosphodiester Bond

Back 14

The linkage in which a phosphate groups is esterified to two alcohol groups, e.g., the phosphate groups that join the adjacent nucleoside residues in a polynucleotide.

Front 15

Define:

Polynucleotide

Back 15

(a.k.a. Nucleic Acid)

A polymer of nucleotide residues. The major nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA).

Front 16

Define:

5' end

Back 16

The terminus of a polynucleotide whose C5' is not esterified to another nucleotide residue.

Front 17

Define:

3' end

Back 17

The terminus of a polynucleotide whose C3' is not esterified to another nucleotide residue.

Front 18

Define:

Replication

Back 18

the process of making an identical copy of a DNA molecule. During DNA replication, the parental polynucleotide strands separate so that each can direct the synthesis of a complementary daughter strand, resulting in two complete DNA double helices.

Front 19

Define:

Ribosome

Back 19

The organelle that synthesizes polypeptides under the direction of mRNA. It consists of around two-thirds RNA and one-third protein.

Front 20

Define:

RNA

Back 20

Ribonucleic acid.

A polymer of ribonucleotides.

The major form of RNA include messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and ribosomal RNA (rRNA).

Front 21

Define:

rRNA

Back 21

ribosomal RNA

The RNA molecules that constitute the bulk of the ribosome, the site of polypeptide synthesis. rRNA provides structural scaffolding for the ribosome and catalyzes peptide bond formation.

Front 22

Define:

Stem-loop

Back 22

A secondary structural element in a single-stranded nucleic acid, in which two complementary segments form a base-paired stem whose strands are connected by a loop of unpaired bases.

Front 23

Define:

Tautomers

Back 23

Isomers that differ only in the positions of their hydrogen atoms and double bonds.

Front 24

Define:

Transcription

Back 24

The process by which RNA is synthesized using a DNA template, thereby transferring genetic information from the DNA to the RNA.

Transcription is catalyzed by RNA polymerase as facilitated by numerous other proteins.

Front 25

Define:

Translation

Back 25

The process of transforming the information contained in the nucleotide sequence of an RNA to the corresponding amino acid sequence of a polypeptide as specified by the genetic code.

Translation is catalyzed by ribosomes and requires the additional participation of messenger RNA, transfer RNA, and a variety of protein factors.

Front 26

Define:

tRNA

Back 26

Transfer RNA

The small L-shaped RNAs that deliver specific amino acids, which have been esterified to the tRNA's 3' ends, to ribosomes according to the sequence of a bound mRNA.

The proper tRNA is selected through the complementary base pairing of its three-nucleotide anticodon with the mRNA's codon, and the growing polypeptide is transferred to its aminoacyl group.