DNA, RNA and PROTEIN SYNTHESIS

WHAT MAKES UP DNA? IT IS A MOLECULE COMPOSED OF CHEMICAL SUBUNITS CALLED NUCLEOTIDES

NUCLEOTIDES ARE COMPOSED OF THREE SUBUNITS A FIVE CARBON SUGAR A PHOSPHATE GROUP A NITROGEN- CONTAINING BASE

NITROGENOUS BASES THERE ARE FOUR NITROGENOUS BASES IN DNA ADENINE CYTOSINE THYMINE GUANINE

ADENINE AND GUANINE ARE PURINES THEY ARE MADE OF TWO RINGS OF NITROGEN AND CARBON ATOMS

THYMINE AND CYTOSINE ARE PYRIMIDINES THEY CONTAIN A SINGLE RING OF CARBON AND NITROGEN ATOMS

THE DNA HAS TWO MAIN SIDES THE SIDES ARE LIKE THE UPRIGHT PARTS OF A LADDER THE SIDES ARE MADE OF THE SUGAR AND THE PHOSPHATE GROUP (ACID)

THEY ALTERNATE ALONG THE SIDES THE RUNGS OF THE LADDER ARE MADE OF NITROGEN BASES THERE ARE WEAK HYDROGEN BONDS BETWEEN THE BASE PAIRS

BASE-PAIRING RULES A PURINE ALWAYS PAIRS WITH A PYRIMIDINE THE STRICTNESS OF BASE PAIRING RULES PRODUCES COMPLIMENTARY BASE PAIRS

ADENINE BONDS WITH THYMINE CYTOSINE BONDS WITH GUANINE

THE ARRANGEMENT OF NUCLEOTIDES IS WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT

DNA REPLICATION DNA MUST MAKE AN IDENTICAL COPY OF ITSELF DURING REPLICATION

DNA HELICASES (ENZYME) BREAKS THE HYDROGEN BONDS BETWEEN THE NITROGEN BASES THE MOLECULE BEGINS TO UNWIND

ONCE STRANDS ARE SEPARATED, PROTEINS ATTACH TO EACH STRAND TO HOLD THEM APART AREAS WHERE THE DOUBLE HELIX SEPARATE ARE CALLED REPLICATION FORKS

DNA POLYMERASE (ENZYME) SWEEPS ALONG BONDING NEW NUCLEOTIDES TO EACH SIDE OF THE PARENT CHAIN

THE PROCESS CONTINUES UNTIL ALL DNA HAS BEEN COPIED TWO NEW IDENTICAL DNA MOLECULES ARE FORMED

DNA POLYMERASE “PROOF-READS” THE STRAND NUCLEOTIDES ARE ADDED AND INCORRECT ONES ARE CORRECTED

RNA A NUCLEIC ACID FOUND IN THE NUCLEUS AND CYTOPLASM COMPOSED OF A SINGLE CHAIN OF NUCLEOTIDES CONTAINS RIBOSE

CONTAINS URACIL INSTEAD OF THYMINE

TRANSCRIPTION THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING A PROTEIN ARE TRANSFERRED FROM A GENE TO AN RNA MOLECULE WE CALL THIS PROCESS TRANSCRIPTION

TRANSCRIPTION EVENTS FORMATION OF RNA RNA POLYMERASE BONDS TO THE START SIGNAL OF DNA THE DOUBLE HELIX UNWINDS

RNA POLYMERASE ADDS AND LINKS COMPLEMENTARY NUCLEOTIDES TO THE DNA TEMPLATE WITH COVALENT BONDS RNA MATCHES UP UNTIL A STOP SIGNAL IS REACHED

THE SINGLE-STRANDED MOLECULE BREAKS AWAY FROM THE DNA CHAIN THE DOUBLE HELIX REFORMS

THE RNA FORMED IS CALLED MESSENGER RNA (mRNA) mRNA CODES FOR PROTEIN PRODUCTION THE mRNA LEAVES THE NUCLEUS AND GOES TO THE RIBOSOME

CODING FOR PROTEINS 3 BASES IN A ROW CODES FOR A PARTICULAR AMINO ACID (CODON) MORE THAN ONE SET OF CODES CAN REPRESENT AN AMINO ACID

THERE ARE STOP CODONS THAT DO NOT CODE FOR AN AMINO ACID THEY READ ONLY IN ONE DIRECTION THE CODE IS UNIVERSAL FROM ORGANISM TO ORGANISM

TRANSLATION THE PROCESS BY WHICH THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE RNA MOLECULE ARE READ AND AN AMINO ACID CHAIN (PROTEIN) IS PRODUCED

TRANSFER RNA (tRNA) TEMPORARILY CARRIES A SPECIFIC AMINO ACID PROTEINS ARE MADE OF CHAINS OF AMINO ACIDS TRANSLATION

AN ANTICODON IS A THREE-NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE ON A tRNA THAT IS COMPLEMENTARY TO AN mRNA CODON RIBOSOMAL RNA MOLECULES AND PROTEINS MAKE UP RIBOSOMES

THE CYTOPLASM CONTAINS THOUSANDS OF RIBOSOMES EACH RIBOSOME TEMPORARILY HOLDS ONE mRNA AND TWO tRNA MOLECULES

STEP 1 mRNA WITH THE START CODON “AUG” BINDS TO THE ANTICODON OF TRNA CONTAINING METHIONINE

STEP 2 THE tRNA WITH THE COMPLEMENTARY ANTICODON BONDS TO THE NEXT CODON.

STEP 3 ENZYMES FORM A PEPTIDE BOND BETWEEN THE ADJACENT AMINO ACIDS

STEP 4 THE MOLECULES THEN MOVE AS A UNIT AND THE NEW CODON RECEIVES THE NEXT TRNA AND ITS AMINO ACID STEP 5 THE AMINO ACID BONDS TO THE GROWING PROTEIN CHAIN

STEPS 2 THOUGH 5 CONTINUES UNTIL A “STOP” CODON IS REACHED