Ch 17 definitions

1. One gene-one polypeptide hypothesis- proteins are constructed from two or mor
e different polypeptide chains, and each polypeptide is specified by its own gen
e.
2 transcription- the synthesis of RNA under the direction of DNA.
3 messenger RNA- RNA molecule that is a faithful transcript of the gene s protein-
building instructions.
4 translation- the actual synthesis of a polypeptide
5 ribosomes- the site of translation
6 RNA processing- the transcription of a protein-coding eucharistic gene results
in pre-mRNA, and RNA processing yields the finished mRNA
7 primary transcript- the initial RNA transcript from any gene, including those
coding for RNA that is not translated into protein, is more generally called a p
rimary transcript.
8 triplet code- the genetic instructions for a polypeptide chain are written in
the DNA as a series of no overlapping, three-nucleotide words.
9 template strand- provides the template for ordering the sequence of nucleotide
s in an RNA transcript
10. Reading frame- the correct groupings of reading the symbols from a written l
anguage
11 RNA polymerase- an enzyme that pries the two strands of DNA apart and hooks t
ogether the RNA nucleotides as they base-pair along the DNA template
12 promoter- The DNA sequence where RNA polymerase attaches and initiaties trans
cription
13 terminator- in prokaryotes the sequence that signals the end of a transcripti
on
14 transcription unit- the stretch of DNA that is transcribed into an RNA molecu
le
15 transcription factors- in eukaryotes, a collection of proteins that mediate t
he binding of RNA polymerase and the initiation of transcription.
16 transcription initation complex- the completed assembly of transcription fact
ors and RNA polymerase II bound to the promoter
17 TATA box- crucial promtor DNA sequence that forms the initiation complex in e
ukaryotes
18 5 cap- the 5 end, the end transcribed first, is capped off with a modified form
of guanine nucleotide after transcription of the first 20 to 40 nucleotides, for
ming a 5 cap
19 poly a tail- at the 3 end an enzyme adds 50 to 250 adenine nucleotides
20 RNA splicing- removal of a large portion of the RNA molecule that is initial
ly synthesized
21 introns- the noncoding segments of nucleic acid that lie between coding regio
ns are called intervening sequences
22 exons- other regions that are eventually expressed, usually by being translat
ed into amino acid sequences
23 spliceosome-different snRNPs join with additional proteins to form an even la
rger assembly
24 alternative RNA splicing- a number of genes that can give rise to two or more
different polypeptides, depending on which segments are treated as exons during
RNA processing.
25 domains- discrete structural and functional regions that proteins have
26 transfer RNA (tRNA) the message of translation is a series of codons along an
mRNA molecule, and the tRNA is the interpretor
27 anticodon- a nucleotide triplet that base-pairs with complementary codon on m
RNA
28aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase- each amino acid is joined to the correct tRNA by th
is specific enzyme
29 wobble- relaxation of base-pairing rules
30 ribosomal RNA (rRNA)- ribosomal subunits are constructed of proteins and RNA
molecules called this
31 P site- holds the tRNA carrying the growing polypeptide chain
32 A site- hold the tRNA carrying the next amino acid to be added to the chain
33 E site- exit site
34 polyribosomes (polysomes)-string of ribosomes that trail along one mRNA
35 signal peptide- targets the protein to the ER
36 signal recognition particle (SRP)- a paricle that functions as an adapter tha
t brings the ribosomes to a receptor protein built into the ER membrane
37 mutations- changes in the genetic material of a cell.
38 point mutations- chemical changes in just one base pair of a gene
39 base-pair substitution- the replacement of one nucleotide and its partner wit
h another pair of nucleotides.
40 missense mutations- the altered codon still codes for an amino acid and thus
makes sense, although not necessarily the right sense
41 nonsense mutation- causes translation to be terminated prematurely, the resul
ting polypeptide will be shorter than the one encoded by the normal gene
42 insertions- additions of nucleotide pairs in a gene
43 deletion- loss of nucleotide pairs in a gene
44 frame shift mutation- altering of the genetic message that will occur when th
e number of nucleotides inserted or deleted is not a multiple of three
45 mutagens- physical and chemical agents that interact with DNA in ways that ca
use mutations.