Chapter 8.4-8.7: Protein Synthesis
operon
a region of DNA that includes a promoter, an operator, and one or more structural genes that code for all the proteins needed to a specific task
mutagen
agents in the environment that can change DNA
mutation
change in the DNA sequence
anticodon
group of three bases on a tRNA molecule that are complementary to an mRNA codon
chromosomal duplication
mutation caused from crossing over in meiosis when the choromosomes don't line up properly, causing a one chromosome to have two copies of a gene or genes (which means the other chromosome may not have the gene at all!)
chromosomal deletion
mutation caused from crossing over in meiosis when the choromosomes don't line up properly, causing a one chromosome to not have a copy of a gene or genes (which means the other chromosome has two!)
gene point mutation
mutation in which one nucleotide is substituted for another; also known as a substitution
gene frameshift mutation
mutation that involves the insertion or deletion of a nucleotide in the DNA sequence; can be a deletion or insertion
chromosomal translocation
mutation where a piece of one chromosome moves to a nonhomologous chromosome
chromosomal inversion
mutation where part of a chromosome is reversed from its normal arrangement and looks like it has been flipped
intron
segment of a gene that does not code for an amino acid
exon
sequence of DNA that codes information for protein synthesis
promoter
A specific nucleotide sequence in DNA that binds RNA polymerase and indicates where to start transcribing RNA.
codon
A specific sequence of three adjacent bases on a strand of DNA or RNA that provides genetic code information for a particular amino acid
mRNA
A type of RNA, synthesized from DNA, that attaches to ribosomes in the cytoplasm and specifies the primary structure of a protein.
tRNA
An RNA molecule that functions as an interpreter between nucleic acid and protein language by picking up specific amino acids and recognizing the appropriate codons in the mRNA; also called transfer RNA
RNA polymerase
Enzyme that links together the growing chain of RNA nucleotides during transcription using a DNA strand as a template
nondisjunction
Error in meiosis in which homologous chromosomes fail to separate.
central dogma
Information flows from DNA to RNA to proteins to traits
rRNA
The most abundant type of RNA, which together with proteins froms the structure of ribosomes; also called ribosomal RNA.
protein synthesis
The process in which amino acids are arranged in a linear sequence through the processes of transcription of DNA and to RNA and the translation of RNA to a polypeptide chain.
translation
the process whereby genetic information coded in messenger RNA directs the formation of a specific protein at a ribosome in the cytoplasm
transcription
the process whereby the DNA sequence in a gene is copied into mRNA