Vocabulary DNA and RNA - Georgia Virtual School

Vocabulary DNA and RNA

Scientists whose work contributed to our knowledge of the structure and function of DNA

Frederick Griffith - proposed the principle of Transformation; some unknown chemical component of cells could transform other cells

Avery, McCloud and McCarty - tested all the chemical components of the bacteria to determine what component caused transformation; the only component that transformed the bacteria was DNA

Chargaff - developed Chargaff's Rules, known today as 'base pairing' rules that A pairs with T and C pairs with G

Hershey & Chase - conducted experiments that proved conclusively that the transforming chemical components of transformation were genetic material, the DNA

Watson & Crick - developed and proposed the first model for the structure of DNA.

Wilkins - showed Watson and Crick the photograph of DNA that led to their discovery of the double helix

Rosalind Franklin - developed technique of x-ray crystallography to take a photo of DNA which Wilkins later showed to Watson and Crick

Terms directly related to the structure & components of DNA

Double helix - DNA molecule consists of two nucleotide chains that wrap around each other to form a double spiral

Nucleotides - The monomers that make up DNA and RNA; consists of a nitrogen base, a sugar and a phosphate molecule

Purines - have a double ring of carbon and nitrogen atoms;Adenine and Guanine

Pyrimidines - have a single ring of carbon and nitrogen atoms; Thymine, used only in DNA or Uraci,l used only in RNA and cytosine

Complementary - matching, as in complementary bases: A, matches T or

U; C matches G

Replication - the process of duplicating the DNA molecule.

Helicase - enzyme that unwinds and unzips DNA

Template - a model for the complementary bases to be brought into their appropriate positions; each side of DNA is a template during replication; only one side is the template for transcription

Histones - DNA strands wrap around special protein molecules called histones

Types of RNA and terms related to RNA processes of transcription and translation

Messenger RNA - mRNA - a single uncoiled strand that transmits information from DNA to the ribosomes during protein synthesis.

Transfer RNA - tRNA - a single folded strand that bonds with a specific amino acid.

Ribosomal RNA - rRNA - a globular form that is the major constituent of the ribosomes

Transcription -the process of forming a mRNA strand from a DNA strand

Start codon - mRNA transcriptions begin at a specific coding sequence referred to as the start codon

Stop codon - a coding sequence that signals the end of the gene to be transcribed

Protein synthesis - (same thing as Translation) the formation of proteins using information coded on DNA and carried out by RNA in the ribosome

Translation - (same thing as protein synthesis) - the formation of proteins using information coded on DNA and carried out by RNA in the ribosome

Codons - a 3-nucleotide mRNA sequence that codes for one specific amino acid

Anticodon - one end of a tRNA molecule that contains a set of three nucleotides that will match codons on the mRNA during translation; has a

site for a specific amino acid on the opposite end

Types of mutations

Mutations - A mutation is any change in the DNA

Germ mutation - occurs in gametes (reproductive cells).

Somatic mutation - occurs in body cells

Deletion - a piece of a chromosome breaks off and is lost.

Inversion - a piece of a chromosome breaks off and reattaches itself in reverse order on the same chromosome

Translocation - a broken piece attaches to a nonhomologous chromosome.

Nondisjunction - a pair of chromosomes fail to separate during cell division; results in trisomy (three of its kind in a diploid cell) or monosomy.(one of its kind in a diploid cell)

Point mutation - a change in a single nitrogen base in DNA; may or may not cause a change in the amino acid depending on position of letter changed

Frame-shift mutation - the addition or deletion of a nitrogen base, causing a shift in codons so that the gene sequence is nonsense.

Mutagen - anything that causes a mutation

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