-
a nitrogenous base found in both DNA and RNA; abbreviated as A.
adenine (A)
-
a virus specialized to attack bacteria.
bacteriophage
-
one of the nitrogen-containing, single- or double-ringed structures that distinguishes one nucleotide from another. In DNA, the bases are adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine.
base
-
in nucleic acids, bases that pair by hydrogen bonding. In DNA, adenine is complementary to thymine and guanine is complementary to cytosine; in RNA, adenine is complementary to uracil, and guanine to cytosine.
complementary base pair
-
a nitrogenous base found in both DNA and RNA; abbreviated as C.
cytosine (C)
-
a mutation in which one or more pairs of nucleotides are removed from a gene.
deletion mutation
-
a molecule composed of deoxyribose nucleotides; contains the genetic information of all living cells.
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
-
an enzyme that helps unwind the DNA double helix during DNA replication.
DNA helicase
-
an enzyme that bonds the terminal sugar in one DNA strand to the terminal phosphate in a second DNA strand, creating a single strand with a continuous sugar-phosphate backbone.
DNA ligase
-
an enzyme that bonds DNA nucleotides together into a continuous strand, using a preexisting DNA strand as a template.
DNA polymerase
-
the copying of the double-stranded DNA molecule, producing two identical DNA double helices.
DNA replication
-
the shape of the two-stranded DNA molecule; similar to a ladder twisted lengthwise into a corkscrew shape.
double helix
-
nucleotides that have not been joined together to form a DNA or RNA strand.
free nucleotides
-
a nitrogenous base found in both DNA and RNA; abbreviated as G.
guanine (G)
-
a mutation in which one or more pairs of nucleotides are inserted into a gene.
insertion mutation
-
a mutation that occurs when a piece of DNA is cut out of a chromosome, turned around, and reinserted into the gap.
inversion
-
a change in the base sequence of DNA in a gene; normally refers to a genetic change significant enough to alter the appearance or function of the organism.
mutation
-
a subunit of which nucleic acids are composed; a phosphate group bonded to a sugar (deoxyribose in DNA), which is in turn bonded to a nitrogen-containing base (adenine, guanine, cytosine, or thymine in DNA).
nucleotide
-
a mutation in which a single base pair in DNA has been changed.
nucleotide substitution
-
a mutation in which a single base pair in DNA has been changed.
point mutation
-
a single polymer of nucleotides; DNA is composed of two strands wound about each other in a double helix; RNA is usually single stranded.
strand
-
a chain of sugars and phosphates in DNA and RNA; the sugar of one nucleotide bonds to the phosphate of the next nucleotide in a DNA or RNA strand. The bases in DNA or RNA are attached to the sugars of the backbone.
sugar-phosphate backbone
-
a nitrogenous base found only in DNA; abbreviated as T.
thymine (T)
-
a mutation that occurs when a piece of DNA is removed from one chromosome and attached to another chromosome.
translocation
|
|
