DNA, DNA!, DNA Terms

Deoxyribonucleic Acid; A nucleic acid found in the nucleus of all living cells, which carries the organism's hereditary information.

rod-shaped cellular structure made of condensed chromatin; contains DNA, which carries the genetic information that controls inherited characteristics such as eye color and blood type.

monomer of nucleic acids made up of a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base

Shape of a DNA molecule formed when two twisted DNA strands are coiled into a springlike structure and held together by hydrogen bonds between the bases

nitrogenous base "A"; connects to thymine in DNA and connects to uracil in RNA

nitrogenous base "T"; connects to adenine in DNA

The molecule that is bonded between the phosphate and the base in the DNA double helix

The part of the nucleotide subunit that forms the sides or "rails" of the DNA double helix ladder

nitrogenous base "C" connects with guanine

nitrogenous base "G"; connects to cytosine

Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, and Cytosine are known as these in DNA

the complete instructions for making an organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that organism's chromosomes

bond that connects the base pairs

DNA segments that serve as the key functional units in hereditary transmission.

protein molecules around which DNA is tightly coiled in chromatin

A characteristic that an organism can pass on to its offspring through its genes.

single-stranded nucleic acid that contains the sugar ribose

a nitrogen-containing base found in RNA (but not in DNA)

insertion or deletion of a base pair

Mutation in which a nucleotide base is replaced with another.

synthesis of an RNA molecule from a DNA template

Process by which mRNA is decoded and a protein is produced

nucleus

ribosome

transfer RNA; type of RNA that carries amino acids to the ribosome

messenger RNA; type of RNA that carries instructions from DNA in the nucleus to the ribosome

made of one or more chains of amino acids and that is a principal component of all cells

A mutation involving a piece of a chromosome that breaks off and reattaches in reverse orientation.

Organelles for protein synthesis (ribosomes) are found in the cytoplasm. DNA is too large to move out of the nucleus, so a section is copied into RNA.

It is putting together the amino acids to make the proteins

a sequence of three nucleotides that together form a unit of genetic code in a DNA or RNA molecule.