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93 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
activation energy
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energy required to start a reaction
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active site
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the place on the enzyme that causes the substrate to change
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ATP
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a molecule formed from the building blocks of adenine, ribose, and phosphates; it functions as the primary energy carrier in the cell
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anabolism
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metabolic pathwaays that result in the synthesis of new, larger compounds
e.g. protein synthesis |
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binding site
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a specific point on the surface of hte enzyme where it can physically attach itself to the substrate
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biochemical pathway
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a major series of enzyme-controlled reactions linked together
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catabolism
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metabolic pathways that result in the breakdown of compounds
e.g. glycolysis |
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catalyst
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a chemical that speeds up a reaction but is not used in the reaction
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coenzyme
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a molecule that works with an enzyme to enable the enzyme to function as a catalyst
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cofactors
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inorganic ions or organic molecules that serve as enzyme helpers
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competitive inhibition
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the formation of a temporary enzyme-inhibitor complex that interferes with the normal formation of enzyme-substrate complexes, resulting in a decreased turnover
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enzymatic competition
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competition among several different available enzymes to combine with a given substrate
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enzymes
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molecules, produced by organisms, that are able to control the rate at which chemical reactions occur
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enzyme-substrate complex
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a temporary molecule formed when an enzyme attaches itself to a substrate molecule
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flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)
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a hydrogen carrier used in respiration
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gene-regulator proteins
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chemical messengers within a cell that inform the genes as to whether protein-producing genes should be turned on or off or whether they should have their protein-producing activities increased or decreased
e.g. gene-repressor proteins and gene-activator proteins |
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high-energy phosphate bond
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the bond between two phosphates in an ADP or ATP molecule that readily releases its energy for cellular processes
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inhibitor
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a molecule that temporarily attaches itself to an enzyme, thereby interfering with the enzyme's ability to form an enzyme-substrate complex
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negative-feedback inhibition
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a regulatory mechanism in which an increase in the stimulus causes a decrease of the response and results in homeostasis
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nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+)
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an electron acceptor and hydrogen carrier used in photosynthesis
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nutrients
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molecules required by organisms for growth, reproduction, or repair
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substrate
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a reactant molecule with which the enzyme combines
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turnover number
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the number of molecules of substrate with which a single molecule of enzyme can react in a given time
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vitamins
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organic molecules that cannot be manufactured by the body but are required in very low concentrations for good health
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acetyl
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the two carbon remainder of the carbon skeleton of pyruvic acid that is able to enter the mitochondrion
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alcohol fermentation
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the anerobic respiration pathway in yeast cells; during this process pyruvic acid from glycosis is converted to ethanol and carbon dioxide
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aerobic cellular respiration
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the biochemical pathway that requires oxygen and converts food such as carbs to carbon dioxide and water. during this conversion it releases a chemical bond energy as ATP molecules
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autotrophs
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organisms that are able to make their food molecules from inorganic raw materials by using basic energy sources such as sunlight
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cellular respiration
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a major biochemical pathway by which cells can release the chemical bond energy from food and convert it into a useable form (ATP)
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chemosynthesis
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the use of inorganic chemical reactions as a source of energy to make larger organic molecules
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electron transport system (ETS)
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the series of oxidation-reduction reactions in aerobic cellular respiration in which the energy is removed from hydrogens and transferred to ATP
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fermentation
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pathways that oxidize glucose to generate ATP energy using something other than oxygen as the ultimate hydrogen acceptor
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glycolysis
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the anerobic first stage of cellular respiration consisting of the enzymatic breakdown of a sugar into two molecules of pyruvic acid
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heterotrophs
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organisms that require a source of organic material from their environment: they cannot produce food on their own
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Kreb's cycle
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the series of reactions in aerobic cellular respiration that results in hte production of two carbon dioxides, the release of four pairs of hydrogens, and the formation of an ATP molecule
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lactic acid fermentation
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a process during which the pyruvic acid that results from glycolysis is converted to lactic acid by the transfer of electrons that had been removed from the original glucose
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accessory pigments
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photosynthetic pigments other than the chlorophylls that enable an organism to use more colors of the visible light spectrum for photosynthesis
e.g. carotinoids (red, yellow, and orange); phycoerythrins (red); and phycocyanin (blue) |
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calvin cycle
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a cyclic sequence of reactions that make up the light-independent reactions stage of photosynthesis
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chlorophyll
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the green pigment located in the chloroplasts of plant cells associated with trapping light energy
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glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate
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a 3 carbon compound produced during glycolysis and photosynthesis, that can be converted to other organic molecules
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grana
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areas of the chloroplast membrane where chlorophyll molecules are concentrated
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light-capturing events
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the first stage of photosynthesis; involves photosynthetic pigments capturing light energy in the form of excited electrons
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light-dependent reactions
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the second stage in photosynthesis, during which excited electrons from hte light-capturing events are used to make ATP, and water is broken down to hydrogen and oxygen. the hydrogens are transferred to electron carrier coenzymes, NADP+
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light-independent reactions
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the third stage of photosynthesis; involves cells using ATP and NADPH from the light-dependent reactions to attach CO2 to 5-carbon starter molecules to manufacture organic molecules
e.g. glucose |
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photosynthesis
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a series of reactions that take place in chloroplasts and result in the storage of sunlight energy in the form of chemical bond energy
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ribulose
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a 5-carbon sugar molecule used in photosynthesis
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ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBisCO)
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an enzyme found in the stroma of a chloroplast that speeds the combining of the CO2 with an already present 5-carbon carb, ribulose
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stroma
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the region within a chloroplast that has no chlorophyll
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thylakoids
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a thin flat disk found in the chloroplast of plant cells that is the site of the light-capturing events and the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis
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adenine
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a double-ring nitrogeneos-base molecule in DNA and RNA; the complimentary base of thymine or uracil
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alternative splicing
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a process which selects which exons will be retained as part of the mature mRNA that will be used during translation. alternative splicing allows for the possibility that a single gene can produce more than one type of protein
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anticodon
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the trio of bases in the tRNA that is involved in base-pairing
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chromosomal abberation
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a change in the structure of chromosomes, which can affect the expression genes
e.g. translocation, duplication, and mutations |
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chromosome
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double stranded DNA molecules with attached protein (nucleoprotein) coiled into a short compact unit
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coding strand
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one of two DNA strands that serves as a template, or a pattern, for the synthesis of RNA
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codon
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a sequence of 3 nucleotides of an mRNA molecule that directs the placement of a particular amino acid during translation
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cytosine
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a single-ring nitrogeneos-base molecule in DNA and RNA; it is complementary to guanine
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deletion mutation
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a change in the DNA that is resulted from the removal of one or more nucleotides
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deletion abberation
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a major change in DNA that can be observed at the level of the chromosome
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deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
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a polymere of nucleotides that serves as genetic information in prokaryotic cells it is a double stranded loop and contains attached HU proteins. in eukaryotic cells, it is found in strands with attached histone proteins. when tightly coiled, the DNA and histone structure is known as a chromosome
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DNA replication
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the process by which the genetic material (DNA) of the cell reproduces itself prior to its distribution to the next generation of cells
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duplications
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a form of chromosomal abberation in which a portion of a chromosome is replicated and attached to the original section in sequence
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enhancer sequences
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a DNA sequence that regulates gene expression by acting as a binding site for proteins that increase the ability of RNA polymerase to transcribe a specific protein
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exons
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sequences of mRNA that are used to code for proteins
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frameshift mutation
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a form of mutation which occurs when insertions or deletions cause to read the wrong sets of 3 nucleotides
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gene expression
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the cellular process of transcribing and translating genetic information
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guanine
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a double-ring nitrogeneos-base molecule in DNA and RNA; it is the complimentary base of cytosine
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insertion mutation
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a change in DNA resulting from the addition of one or more nucleotides to the normal DNA sequence
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introns
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sequences of mRNA that do not code for protein
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inversion
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a chromosomal abberation in which a chromosome is broken and a piece becomes attached to its original chromosome, but in a flipped orientation
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messenger RNA (mRNA)
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a molecule composed of ribonucleotides that functions as a copy of the gene and is used in the cytoplasm of the cell during protein synthesis
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missense mutation
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change in the DNA at a single point that causes the wrong amino acid to be used in the making of a protein
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mutation
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any change in the genetic information of a cell
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non-coding strand
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the strand of DNA that is not read directly by the enzymes
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nonsense mutation
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a type of point mutation that causes a ribosome to stop protein synthesis by introducing a stop codon too early
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nucleoproteins (chromatin fibers)
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DNA strands with attached proteins that become visable during cell division
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nucleic acids
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complex molecules that store and transfer information within a cell. they are constructed of fundamental monomeres known as nucleotides
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nucleosomes
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histone protein with their encircled DNA
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point mutation
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a change in the DNA of a cell as a result of a loss or change in the nitrogeneos-base sequence
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promoter sequences
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specific sequences of DNA nucleotides that RNA polymerase uses to find a protein-coding region a DNA and to identify which of the two DNA strands is the coding strand
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ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
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a globular form of RNA; a part of ribosomes
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RNA polymerase
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an enzyme that bonds RNA nucleotides together during transcription after they have aligned on the DNA
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silencer sequences
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a DNA sequence that regulates gene expression by acting as a binding site for protein that decrease the ability of RNA polymerase to transcribe a specific protein
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silent mutation
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a change of a single mucleotide that does not cause a change in the amino acids used to build a protein
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telomere
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a chromosome cap composed of repeated, specific sequences of nucleotide pairs; its activity or inactivity is associated with cell aging and cancer
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termination sequences
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DNA nucleotide sequences that indicate when RNA polymerase should finish making an RNA molecule
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thymine
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a single-ring nitrogeneos-base molecule in DNA but not in RNA; it is complementary to adenine
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transcription
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the process of manufacturing RNA from the template surface of DNA; 3 forms of RNA that can be produced are mRNA, rRNA, and tRNA
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transcription factors
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proteins that help control the transcription process by binding DNA or other transcription factors and regulating when RNA polymerase begins transcription
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transfer RNA (tRNA)
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a molecule composed of ribonucleic acid. it is responsible for transporting a specific amino acid into a ribosome for assembly into a protein
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translation
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a chromosomal abberation in which one broken segment of DNA becomes integrated into a different chromosome
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translocation
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the process whereby tRNA uses mRNA as a guide to arrange the amino acids in their proper sequence according to the genetic information in the chemical code of DNA
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uracil
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a single-ring nitrogeneos-base molecule in RNA but not in DNA; it is complementary to adenine
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