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Complimentary Base Pairing
the process by which specific bases are matched
adenine with thymine (in DNA) or uracil (in RNA) and cytosine with guanine
each pair is held together by weak hydrogen bonds
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DNA Replication
the copying process that begins when an enzyme breaks the weak hydrogen bonds that hold together the paired bases that make up nucleotide strands of the double helix, thereby "unzipping" and unwinding the strands
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Semiconservative Replication
replication of DNA in which the 2 strands of a DNA molecule become separated and each serves as a template for a new double-stranded DNA
each new Molecule consists of one old strand and one new strand
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Transcription
the process by which a complementary single-stranded messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule is formed from a single-stranded DNA template.
as a result, the information in DNA is transferred to RNA
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messenger RNA (mRNA)
type of RNA synthesized from and complimentary to a region of DNA that attaches to ribosomes in the cytoplasm and specifies the amino acid order in the protein
it carries the DNA instructions for synthesizing a particular protein
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transfer RNA (tRNA)
acts as an interpreter between the nucleic acid language of mRNA and the amino acid language of proteins
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ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
most abundant form of RNA
type of RNA that combines with proteins to form the ribosomes, structures on which protein synthesis occurs
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Promoter
a specific region on DNA next to the "start" gene that controls the expression of the gene
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RNA Polymerase
one of the group of enzymes necessary for the synthesis of RNA from a DNA template.
It binds with the promoter on DNA that aligns the appropriate RNA nucleotides and links them together
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Translation
protein synthesis
the process of converting the nucleotide language of messenger RNA (mRNA) into the amino acid language of a protein
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Genetic Code
the base triplets in DNA that specify the amino acids that go into proteins or that function as start or stop signals in protein synthesis
used to convert the linear sequence of bases in DNA to the sequence of amino acids in proteins
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Codon
a 3-base sequence on messenger RNA (mRNA) that specifies 1 of the 20 common amino acids or the beginning/end of the protein chain
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Anticodon
a 3-base sequence on transfer RNA (rRNA) that binds to the complementary base pairs of a codon on the mRNA
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Polysome
a cluster of ribosomes simultaneously translating the same messenger RNA (mRNA) strand
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Mutation
a change in the base sequence of the DNA of a gene
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Genetic Engineering
the manipulation of genetic material for human practical purposes
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Biotechnology
the industrial or commercial use or alteration of living organisms, cells, or molecules to achieve specific useful goals
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Recombinant DNA
segments of DNA from 2 sources that have been combined in vitro and transferred to cells in which their information can be expressed
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Vector
a biological carrier, usually a plasmid or a virus, that ferries the recombinant DNA to the host cell
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Restriction Enzyme
an enzyme that recognizes a specific sequence of bases in DNA and cuts the DNA into 2 strands at that sequence
used to prepare DNA containing "sticky ends" during the creation of recombinant replication of viruses that infect the bacteria
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Plasmid
small, circular piece of self-replicating DNA that is separate from the chromosome and found in bacteria
often used as vectors in recombinant DNA research
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Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
a technique used to amplify (increase) the quantity of DNA in vitro using primers, DNA polymerase, and nucleotides
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Gene Therapy
treating a genetic disease by inserting healthy functional genes into the body cells that are still affected by the faulty gene
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Genome
the complete set of DNA of an organism, including all of its genes
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Genomics
the study of entire genomes and the interactions of the genes with one anothher and the environment
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