Dna/rna Vocabulary

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Anticodon

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a sequence of three nucleotides forming a unit of genetic code in a transfer RNA molecule, corresponding to a complementary codon in messenger RNA.

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Bacteriophage

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a virus that parasitizes a bacterium by infecting it and reproducing inside it.

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Base-pairing rules

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constraints imposed by the molecular structure of DNA and RNA on the formation of hydrogen bonds among the four purine and pyrimidine bases such that adenine pairs with thymine or uracil, and guanine pairs with cytosine.

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Codon

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a sequence of three nucleotides that together form a unit of genetic code in a DNA or RNA molecule.

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Complementary base pair

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either of the nucleotide bases linked by a hydrogen bond on opposite strands of DNA or double-stranded RNA: guanine is the complementary base of cytosine, and adenine is the complementary base of thymine in DNA and of uracil in RNA.

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Deoxyribose

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a sugar derived from ribose by replacing a hydroxyl group with hydrogen.

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DNA helicase

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Helicases are enzymes that bind and may even remodel nucleic acid or nucleic acid protein complexes. There are DNA and RNA helicases. DNA helicases are essential during DNA replication because they separate double-stranded DNA into single strands allowing each strand to be copied.

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DNA polymerase

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The DNA polymerases are enzymes that create DNA molecules by assembling nucleotides, the building blocks of DNA. These enzymes are essential to DNA replication and usually work in pairs to create two identical DNA strands from one original DNA molecule.

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DNA replication

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The double helix is unwound and each strand acts as a template (blue) for the next strand. Bases are matched to synthesize the new partner strands (green). In molecular biology, DNA replication is the biological process of producing two identical replicas of DNA from one original DNA molecule.

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Double Helix

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Double helix is the description of the structure of a DNA molecule. A DNA molecule consists of two strands that wind around each other like a twisted ladder. Each strand has a backbone made of alternating groups of sugar (deoxyribose) and phosphate groups.

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Messenger RNA

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the form of RNA in which genetic information transcribed from DNA as a sequence of bases is transferred to a ribosome.

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Nucleotide

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Nucleotides are organic molecules that serve as the monomers, or subunits, of nucleic acids like DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid). The building blocks of nucleic acids, nucleotides are composed of a nitrogenous base, a five-carbon sugar (ribose or deoxyribose), and at least one phosphate group.

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Replication Fork

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The first step in DNA replication is the separation of the two DNA strands that make up the helix that is to be copied. DNA Helicase untwists the helix at locations called replication origins. The replication origin forms a Y shape, and is called a replication fork.

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Ribonucleic Acid

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Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule essential in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation, and expression of genes. RNA and DNA are nucleic acids, and, along with proteins and carbohydrates, constitute the four major macromolecules essential for all known forms of life.

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Ribosomal RNA

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In molecular biology, ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) is the RNA component of the ribosome, and is essential for protein synthesis in all living organisms. It constitutes the predominant material within the ribosome, which is approximately 60% rRNA and 40% protein by weight.

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RNA polymerase

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RNA polymerase (or, more fully, ribonucleic acid polymerase, abbreviated RNAP or RNApol), also known as DNA-dependent RNA polymerase, is an enzyme that produces primary transcript RNA. In cells, RNAP is necessary for constructing RNA chains using DNA genes as templates, a process called transcription.

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Transcription

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Transcription is the process by which the information in a strand of DNA is copied into a new molecule of messenger RNA (mRNA). DNA safely and stably stores genetic material in the nuclei of cells as a reference, or template.

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Transfer RNA

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RNA consisting of folded molecules that transport amino acids from the cytoplasm of a cell to a ribosome.

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Transformation

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Transformation (genetics) ... In molecular biology, transformation is the genetic alteration of a cell resulting from the direct uptake and incorporation of exogenous genetic material from its surroundings through the cell membrane(s).

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Translation

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In molecular biology and genetics, translation is the process in which cellular ribosomes create proteins. In translation, messenger RNA (mRNA)—produced by transcription from DNA—is decoded by a ribosome to produce a specific amino acid chain, or polypeptide.

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Vaccine

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a substance used to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against one or several diseases, prepared from the causative agent of a disease, its products, or a synthetic substitute, treated to act as an antigen without inducing the disease.

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Virulent

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(of a disease or poison) extremely severe or harmful in its effects.