Nucleotides
Complex chemicals made up of an organic base, a sugar and phosphate. Thay are the basic units of which nucleic acids DNA and RNA are made.
Purine bases
Adenine and Guanine
RNA
A type of nucleic acid consisting of nucleotide monomers with a ribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and uracil (U); usually single-stranded; functions in protein synthesis and as the genome of some viruses.
DNA
Uracil
A nitrogen-containing base found in RNA (but not in DNA) and derived from pyrimidine.
Nucleic Acids
DNA and RNA
Phosphodiester bond
the type of bond that links the nucleotides in DNA or RNA. joins the phosphate group of one nucleotide to the hydroxyl group on the sugar of another nucleotide
Genome
All of an organism's genetic material.
DNA Ligase
A linking enzyme essential for DNA replication; catalyzes the covalent bonding of the 3' end of a new DNA fragment to the 5' end of a growing chain.
DNA Replication
Process in which unzipped DNA strands serve as templates for complementary strands.
Transcription
DNA to mRNA
Translation
(genetics) the process whereby genetic information coded in messenger RNA directs the formation of a specific protein at a ribosome in the cytoplasm
DNA helicase
An enzyme that unwinds the DNA double helix during DNA replication.
RNA polymerase
An enzyme that links together the growing chain of RNA nucleotides during transcription, using a DNA strand as a template.
codon
A specific sequence of three adjacent bases on a strand of DNA or RNA that provides genetic code information for a particular amino acid
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
Ribosome
A cell organelle composed of RNA and protein; the site of protein synthesis.
mRNA
A type of RNA, synthesized from DNA, that attaches to ribosomes in the cytoplasm and specifies the primary structure of a protein.
Anticodon
group of three bases on a tRNA molecule that are complementary to an mRNA codon
antisense strand
the one DNA strand used as a template for transcription
Gene mutation
a change in the base sequence of a gene
Base substitution
When a nitrogenous base gets switched with another. Generally less dangerous than insertion/deletion.
Mutagen
A chemical or physical agent that interacts with DNA and causes a mutation.
Sickle Cell anaemia
A genetic disorder linked to abnormal haemoglobin. A point mutation has replaced the amino acid glutamine with valine, disrupting the structure of haemoglobin.
Base deletion
a type of gene mutation in which a nucleotide is deleted