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Chapter 10 + Unit 6 (AP Biology 2026 and Mrs. Eaton)

1.

What is #' in sugar?

it is counting carbons clockwise from the oxygen, going from 1' to 5'

2.

nucleotide components

phosphate group linked to 5-carbon sugar linked to nitrogenous base

3.

phosphodiester bonds (AP)

link sugars and phosphates in nucleotides (forming the sugar-phosphate backbone)

4.

purines

double ringed nitrogenous bases (A and G - two rings as Pure as Gold)

5.

pyrimidines

single ringed nitrogenous bases (C, T, U)

6.

What is attached to the 5' end of DNA?

phosphate group

7.

What is attached to the 3' end of DNA?

OH (hydroxyl) group

8.

antiparallel

the DNA strands run in opposite directions, each with a 5' end and a 3' end (5' always opposite 3' of complementary strand)

9.

plasmids

small, double-stranded, circular DNA molecules in prokaryotes and eukaryotes

10.

nucleosome (AP)

bunches of histones, package eukaryotic chromatin

11.

euchromatin (AP)

loose DNA in the nucleus, active for transcription

12.

heterochromatin (AP)

genetic material is fully condensed into coils, inactive

13.

DNA helicase

unwinds the double helix by breaking the hydrogen bonds in DNA replication

14.

replication bubbles

DNA strands exposed in a y-shape from helicase opening them, with DNA replication proceeding in both direction from the origin

15.

origins of replication

where DNA replication begins, proteins attach here to begin strand separation

16.

DNA topoisomerases (AP)

cut and region the helix to prevent it from tangling, stop helix from twisting in DNA replication

17.

DNA polymerase

adds the nucleotides to the freshly built strand, only 5' 3 for new strand and 3' to 5' for old strand in DNA replication

18.

What happens to RNA primase after DNA replication kicks off?

it is degraded by enzymes and replaced with DNA

19.

RNA primase

adds a short strand of RNA nucleotides (RNA primer) to start off replication

20.

leading strand

one DNA strand is made continuously in DNA replication by DNA polymerase, 5' to 3' towards forking point

21.

lagging strand

made discontinuously in pieces by DNA polymerase, 5' to 3' direction away from forking point

22.

Okazaki fragments

the pieces of nucleotides that make up the lagging strand

23.

DNA ligase

links the Okazaki fragments to produce a continuous strand in DNA replication

24.

semiconservative

half of each new molecule was a part of the original one, while the other half is a new strand in DNA replication

25.

telomeres (AP)

the ends of the DNA molecule, contains unimportant DNA and gets shorter over time since chromosome loses base pairs at the end

26.

central dogma

DNA --> mRNA --> protein --> expression

27.

Where do transcription and translation occur in prokaryotes?

both in the cytoplasm at the same time

28.

messenger RNA (mRNA)

temporary RNA version of DNA, exits nucleus

29.

ribosomal RNA (rRNA)

makes up parts of the ribosomes, produced in nucleolus

30.

transfer RNA (tRNA)

shuttles amino acids to ribosomes, matches amino acids to anticodons to codons by reading mRNA

31.

What is the structure of tRNA?

anticodon on one side, amino acid on the other,

32.

wobble pairing

anticodons in tRNA can pair against base matching with their third nucleotide

33.

interfering RNAs (RNAi)

small snippets of RNA naturally made in the body, bind to specific RNA sequences to mark for destruction (e.g. siRNA and miRNA)

34.

polycistronic transcript

prokaryotes will transcribe a recipe used to make several proteins, unlike eukaryotes

35.

monocistronic

eukaryotes tend to have one gene that gets transcribed to one mRNA translated into one protein

36.

initiation (transcription)

unwind and unzip DNA using helicase

37.

promoters

special sequences in the DNA strand where transcription begins (like docking sites at a runway), no primer in transcription

38.

What are promoters made up of?

TATA box, weak bonds (double instead of triple) allows RNA polymerase to break through

39.

antisense strand / noncoding strand / minus-strand / template strand

the strand that serves as a template for RNA, only copy one of the 2 DNA strands

40.

sense strand / coding strand

dormant strand not copied in transcription

41.

elongation (transcription)

RNA polymerase builds RNA, adding to 3' side of template strand (build new mRNA 5' to 3')

42.

promoter region

upstream of actual coding part of gene so polymerase can get set up before the bases it needs to transcribe, no need for a primer

43.

termination (transcription)

RNA separates from the DNA template

44.

terminator

special sequence of bases in DNA template that signals end of the gene, lots of C's and G's (STRONGER triple bonds) causes RNA polymerase to release

45.

Do eukaryotes or prokaryotes need extra mRNA processing?

eukaryotes

46.

heterogeneous nuclear RNA (hnRNA) (AP)

freshly transcribed RNA in eukaryotes, still needs to be processed

47.

exons

coding regions of hnRNA, are EXpressed and EXit the nucleus

48.

introns

non-coding regions of hnRNA, INtervening sequences and stay IN the nucleus

49.

splicing

when introns are removed from the mRNA in processing, can splice in different ways with different exons

50.

spliceosome

the RNA-protein complex that does the splicing of introns in mRNA processing

51.

small nuclear ribonuclear proteins (snurps)

part of spliceosomes that recognize the start and end of introns

52.

poly (A) tail

a long string of adenine nucleotides at the 3' end of processed mRNA

53.

5' GTP cap

one guanine nucleotide at the 5' end of processed mRNA

54.

exit (E) site (AP)

holds deactivated tRNA so it can exit after its amino acid has been added

55.

adding (A) site

holds tRNA with next amino acids to be added to the chain

56.

primary (P) site

holds tRNA carrying the growing polypeptide chain

57.

large subunit of ribosome

tRNA binding site, binds with small subunit after it attaches to mRNA, has E, P, and A sites

58.

small subunit of ribosome

mRNA binding site

59.

initiation (translation)

ribosome attached to mRNA, shuttles from A to P to E binding sites

60.

How is tRNA linked to amino acids?

charged tRNA and enzymes need ATP to link AA and tRNA

61.

start codon

AUG (methionine), first to go into ribosome in initiation

62.

elongation (translation)

addition of amino acids to the growing polypeptide chain by tRNA reading mRNA

63.

stop codons

UAA, UGA, UAG (do not code for an amino acid)

64.

termination (translation)

the ribosome runs into one of three stop codons

65.

pre-transcriptional regulation

largest point of gene expression regulation, occurs before transcription, transcription factors encourage or inhibit transcription's start

66.

transcription factors

can encourage or inhibit the start of transcription by adjusting difficulty for RNA polymerase to get to start site, influence expressed genes

67.

epigenetic changes

changes to the packaging of DNA that alter the ability of transcription machinery to access a gene, occurs through histone tightness modification

68.

operons

a cluster of genes used to control a single promoter in bacteria

69.

lac operon

controls expression of enzymes that break down lactose

70.

structural genes

code for enzymes needed in chemical reaction, usually transcribed at the same time to produce particular enzymes

71.

promoter gene

where RNA polymerase binds to begin transcription

72.

operator

region that controls where transcription will occur, where repressor binds

73.

regulatory genes

codes for specific regulatory protein called the repressor

74.

repressor

can attach to operator and block transcription, binds = transcription will not occur

75.

inducer

binds to the repressor and causes it to fall off, turns on transcription

76.

post-transcriptional regulation

when the cell creates RNA, then decides it should not be translated into a protein, RNAi binds to RNA with BP = double stranded RNA which is destroyed

77.

post-translational regulation

cell has made a protein, but doesn't need it; mostly enzymes made ahead of time, turn off as needed

78.

morphogenesis

the succession of stages the cell changes in shape and organization throughout its development

79.

undifferentiated cells

can develop into any type of cell

80.

differentiated cells

once cells become specialized, their futures options are limited (no dedifferentiation; a future muscle cells can't turn into a bone cell)

81.

homeotic genes

the early genes that turn certain developing embryonic cells into future specialized cells, make sure the right gene is activated or part is modified at the right time

82.

Hox genes

a subset of homeotic genes

83.

apoptosis

programmed cell death, destroys scaffolding parts of developing embryo (toe webs)

84.

mutation

an error in the genetic code

85.

causes of mutation

chemicals, radiation, polymerase mistakes

86.

What has proofreading abilities?

DNA to prevent inheritance of them, RNA does not have

87.

base substitution (point) mutations

single nucleotide base is substituted for another

88.

nonsense mutation

point mutations that lead to a stop codon (terminate translation early)

89.

missense mutations

point mutations that lead to a different amino acid

90.

silent mutation

point mutations that code for the same amino acid with no change to the overall protein sequence

91.

insertions / deletions

gene rearrangement that results in gain / loss of a gene(s) and frameshift

92.

frameshift mutation

changes the sequence of codons (triplets) used by the ribosome to make proteins, everything after is affected

93.

duplications

gene rearrangements that result in an extra copy of genes from unequal crossing over or chromosome rearrangement, results in new traits

94.

inversion

changes in orientation of chromosomal regions

95.

translocation

two different chromosomes break and rejoin in a way that causes the DNA sequence or gene to be lost, repeated, or interrupted (can also be one chromosome breaking in 2 places)

96.

transposons

gene segments that can cut / paste themselves throughout the genome

97.

conjugation

swap DNA with other bacterial cells

98.

transformation

uptake of DNA for bacteria

99.

transposition

movement of DNA within and between DNA molecules for bacteria

100.

What increases the genetic variation of bacteria?

conjugation, transformation, transposition

101.

viruses

nonliving agents capable of infecting cells, use host cell machinery to replicate, made of protein shell (capsid) and genetic material

102.

viral genome

carries genes for building the capsid and anything else the virus needs that the host cannot provide

103.

How can viral genomes mix?

if two viruses infect the same cell

104.

lytic cycle

the virus immediately starts using the host cell's machinery to replicate the genetic material and create more capsid proteins, lyse to release viruses

105.

lysogenic cycle

virus incorporates itself into host genome and remains dormant until it is triggered, can remain dormant for a long time until triggered, means cell can divide with viral DNA

106.

prophage

host cell's genome before phage

107.

transduction

the transfer of DNA between bacterial cells using a lysogenic virus. host DNA is packaged into new viral particles so next infected cell has previous host DNA and viral genome

108.

enveloped viruses

viruses with a lipid envelope, no need to break out of cell but bud out of membrane instead

109.

retroviruses

use enzyme reverse transcriptase to convert their RNA genomes into DNA (e.g. HIV), high mutation rates and no proofreading = hard to treat

110.

recombinant DNA

generated by combining DNA from multiple sources to create a unique DNA molecule not found in nature

111.

genetic engineering

produces new organisms or products by transferring genes between cells

112.

polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

lab technique for making billions of identical gene copies in hours, DNA used for phylogenetic analyses

113.

amplification

the process of making many copies of genes

114.

thermocycler

the machine used that mimics the process of DNA replication

115.

transformation in lab

the process of giving bacteria foreign DNA (e.g. making insulin from bacteria or for gene expression studies)

116.

gel electrophoresis

separates DNA fragments by weight and charge

117.

restriction enzymes

create a molecular fingerprint by cutting in specific, personally unique patterns

118.

restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP)

the unique restriction fragments of individuals

119.

DNA fingerprinting

when RFLPs from DNA at the crime scene are compared to the suspects' RFLP

120.

DNA sequencing

used to determine the order of nucleotides in a DNA molecules

121.

CRISPR Cas-9

clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, molecular scissors that cut and paste

122.

Who discovered CRISPR-Cas 9?

Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier, 2 female scientists

123.

uses for CRISPR Cas-9

cure lifelong, inherited diseases; don't use on gametes or early development embryos; only stem cells

124.

Cas-9

protein, DNA cutting enzyme, has RNA guide inside with the necessary sequence, surrounded by enzyme

125.

How accessible is CRISPR?

very, any Joe Schmoe can make in 3 weeks

126.

supernatant

lighter components of a solution, in the liquid after centrifuging

127.

lysozymes

naturally occurring enzyme used to break open cells

128.

freeze cells overnight

water expands, leads to breakage

129.

fluorescent protein tail

negatively charged his amino acids

130.

elution buffer (imidazole)

breaks bond between nickel bead and fluorescent proteins by making nickel beads more negative and the R groups of the his more positive