AP Biology Gene Expression Flashcards

12764936685	RNA polymerase	enzyme that links together the growing chain of RNA nucleotides during transcription using a DNA strand as a template	0
12765095483	transcription	synthesis of an RNA molecule from a DNA template in a 5' to 3' direction	1
12764949713	template strand	the strand of DNA that specifies the complementary mRNA molecule, read 3' to 5'	2
12764956969	promoter	specific region of a gene where RNA polymerase can bind and begin transcription	3
12764958584	TATA box	A DNA sequence in eukaryotic promoters crucial in forming the transcription initiation complex.	4
12765177341	terminator	in prokaryotes, a special sequence of nucleotides in DNA that marks the end of a gene	5
12764961355	reading frame	reading mRNA nucleotides in the correct groupings.	6
12764969165	transcription factors	collection of proteins that mediate the binding of RNA polymerase and the initiation of transcription.	7
12764971249	intron	a segment of a DNA or RNA molecule that does not code for proteins and interrupts the sequence of genes.	8
12764976416	exon	a segment of a DNA or RNA molecule containing information coding for a protein or peptide sequence.	9
12764978651	5' cap	a modified form of guanine nucleotide added onto the 5' end of a pre-mRNA molecule	10
12764980887	poly-A tail	a sequence of 50-250 adenine nucleotides added onto the 3' end of a pre-mRNA molecule	11
12765194685	RNA splicing	process by which the introns are removed from RNA transcripts and the remaining exons are joined together.	12
12765200051	alternative RNA splicing	a type of eukaryotic gene regulation at the RNA-processing level in which different mRNA molecules are produced from the same primary transcript, depending on which RNA segments are treated as exons and which as introns.	13
12764983526	spliceosome	A large complex made up of proteins and RNA molecules that splices RNA by interacting with the ends of an RNA intron, releasing the intron and joining the two adjacent exons.	14
12764985595	snRNA	Found only in the nucleus of eukaryotes and functions to remove introns from mRNA	15
12764988119	ribozyme	a type of RNA that can act as an enzyme	16
12764990540	mRNA	A type of RNA, synthesized from DNA, that attaches to ribosomes in the cytoplasm and specifies the primary structure of a protein.	17
12764992849	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	18
12765098627	translation	the process whereby genetic information coded in messenger RNA directs the formation of a specific protein at a ribosome in the cytoplasm	19
12764994880	codon	a sequence of three nucleotides that together form a unit of genetic code in a DNA or RNA molecule.	20
12764997235	anticodon	a sequence of three nucleotides forming a unit of genetic code in a transfer RNA molecule, corresponding to a complementary codon in messenger RNA.	21
12765185610	rRNA	ribosomal RNA; type of RNA that makes up part of the ribosome	22
12765005346	ribosome	cytoplasmic organelles at which proteins are synthesized.	23
12765008347	A site	Amino-acyl tRNA site; the site on a ribosome where a new amino acid is added to a growing peptide.	24
12765012299	P site	Peptidyl-tRNA site; the site on a ribosome where the growing peptide (attached to a tRNA) is found during translation.	25
12765017021	E site	the exit site, where discharged tRNAs leave the ribosome	26
12765019489	aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase	During protein synthesis, an enzyme that attaches the correct amino acid to a tRNA molecule to form a "charged" aminoacyl-tRNA.	27
12765021210	wobble	Flexibility in the base-pairing rules in which the nucleotide at the 5' end of a tRNA anticodon can form hydrogen bonds with more than one kind of base in the third position of a codon.	28
12765053533	direction in which mRNA is read during translation	5' to 3'	29
12765024815	release factor	a cytoplasmic protein that binds to a stop codon when it appears in the A-site of the ribosome	30