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50 Cards in this Set

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  • Back
C-value paradox
among eukaryotes, there is no consistent relationship between the dna content of the haploid genome and the metabolic developmental, or behavioral complexity of the organism
double ring structured bases (Adenine and Guanine)
single ring-ring structures bases (Thymine and Cytosine)
a base chemically linked to one molecule of sugar deoxydribose
phosphate group attached to a sugar molecule attached to the base
polynucleotide chain
phosphate attached to the 5' carbon of one sugar linked to the hydroxyl group attached to the 3' carbon of the next sugar in line (ncleotides joined together)
phosphodiester bonds
chemical bonds that bond the sugar components of the adjacent nucleotides that are linked through the phosphate groups
5' end
the end that terminates in a phosphate
3' end
the end that terminates in a hydroxyl
hydrogen bond
a weak bond in which two negatively charged atoms share a hydrogen atom
the orientation of the two strands of double stranded nucleic acid molecules;; (the 5' to 3' orientation)
daughter strand
the newly replicated complimentrary strand
parental strand
the strand being replicated
a strand of nucleic acid whose base sequence is copied in a polymerization reaction to produce either a complementrary DNA or an RNA strand
semiconservative replication
the usual form of replication in which one strand of dna serves as a template for another
Mathew Meselson and Franklin Stahl in 1958
the expiriment that showed DNA replication was semiconservative by using bacteria in a heavy N-containing medium and replicating their DNA several generations.
theta replication
bidirectional replicaion of a circular dna molecule, starting from a single origin of replication
replication origin
the position long a molecule at which DNA replication begins
replication fork
the region on dna molecule where the parental strands are separating and new strands are being sythesized
the process of generaing a new replication fork
rolling-circle replication
a mode of replication in which a circular parent molecule produces a linear branch of newly formed dna
protein that hydrolyzes ATP to drive the unwinding reaction
single stranded DNA binding protein (SSB)
binds single-stranded DNA tightly and cooperatively and it has an affinity for single stranded DNA at least 1000-fold greater than that for double stranded DNA
a type of topoisomerase II that cleaves and rejoins both strands of a DNA duplex to relieve torsional stress
identical to deoxyribose of DNA except for the presence of an -OH group on the 2' carbon atom
RNA polymerase
An enzyme that makes RNA by copying the base sequence of a DNA strand
in nucleic acids, a short RNA or single-stranded DNA segment that functions as a growing point in polymerization
the enzyme complex that forms the RNA primer for DNA replication. Multienzyme complex composed of 15 to 20 polypeptide chains
DNA polymerase
the enzyme that forms the sugar-phosphate bond between adjacent nucleotides in a new DNA acid chain.
editing function or proofreading function
The activity of DNA polymerases that removes incorrectly incorporated nucleotides
precursor fragments (okazaki fragment)
any of the short strands of DNA produced during discontinuous replication of the lagging strand
leading strand
DNA strand whose complement is synthesized as a continuous unit
lagging strand
the DNA strand whose complement is synthesized in short fragments that are ultimately joined together
DNA ligase
an enzyme that catalyzes formation of a covalent bond between adjacent 5' P and 3' OH termini in broken polynucleotide strand of double-stranded DNA
Separation of DNA strands (i.e. heating them up)
DNA strands coming together (i.e. when the heat is lowered in a solution)
3 uses and methods of Denaturation and renaturation
1. Small DNA fragment mixed with larger DNA fragments, which can help identify specific DNA fragments in a complex mixture.
2. DNA fragment of one gene can be renatured with other genes of the same genome; is used to identify genes that are smaller, but not identical in sequence and have related functions.
3. DNA fragment from one species can be renatured with sequences of other species. This allows the isolation of genes that have the same or related functions in multiple species and can be used to study molecular evolution.
Nucleic acid hybridization
The process of renaturing DNA strands from two different sources
a radioactive DNA and RNA molecule used in DNA-RNA and DNA-DNA hybridization assays
restriction enzymes
Also called restriction endonucleases, are able to cleave DNA molecules at the poistions at which particular, short sequences of bases are present.
restriction site
the sequence recognized for cleavage by a restriction enzyme
restriction fragment
The fragments formed when a large DNA molecule is cut into many restriction fragments of different sizes.
restriction map
A diagram of a DNA molecule showing the positions of cleavage by one or more restriction endonucleases
Southern Blot
a nucleic acid hybridization method in which, from a gel to a membrane filter and then exposed to radioctive regions locate the homologous DNA fragments on the filter.
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
repeaated cycles of DNA denaturation, renaturation with primer oligonucleotide sequences, and replication, resulting in exponential growth in the number of copies of the DNA sequence located between the primers.
dideoxy sequencing method
procedure for DNA sequencing in which a template strand is replicated from a particular primer sequence and terminated by the incorporation of a nucleotide that contains dideoxyribose instead of deoxyribose; the resulting fragments are separated by size via eletrophoresis.
a deoxyribose sugar that lacks the 3' hydroxyl group; when incorporated into a polynucleotide chain, it blocks further chain elongation.
Exonuclease activity
The ability to break phosphodiester bonds in the sugar-phophate backbones of nucleic acid chains
cohesive ends
single-stranded regions at the ends of otherwise double-stranded DNA molecules that are complementary in base sequence
blunt ends
ends of a DNA molecule in which all terminal bases are paired; the term usually referes to termini formed by a restriction enzyme that does not produce single-stranded ends.