All flashcards
Flashcard 1: What is a silent mutation’s effect on the protein sequence?
Answer: No amino acid change in the protein. Different codon still codes for the same amino acid.
Flashcard 2: What is a frameshift mutation?
Answer: An insertion or deletion that shifts the mRNA reading frame. Changes how codons group, altering all downstream amino acids.
Flashcard 3: What is transcription?
Answer: Copying a genes DNA sequence into mRNA. RNA polymerase reads DNA and builds a complementary RNA strand.
Flashcard 4: What is translation?
Answer: Using mRNA codons to assemble a chain of amino acids. Ribosomes read mRNA triplets and link matching amino acids together.
Flashcard 5: What is a gene in the context of making proteins?
Answer: A DNA sequence that codes for a protein or functional RNA. Contains instructions for building specific proteins or RNAs.
Flashcard 6: Identify the mutation type: adding 1 nucleotide shifts all later codons.
Answer: Frameshift mutation (insertion). Single base addition disrupts triplet reading pattern.
Flashcard 7: Identify the mutation type: a base change creates a stop codon in the mRNA.
Answer: Nonsense mutation. UAA, UAG, or UGA replaces a normal codon, ending translation early.
Flashcard 8: What is the most direct way a gene change can alter protein function?
Answer: By changing the amino acid sequence and thus the protein’s shape. Different amino acids fold differently, altering protein function.
Flashcard 9: What is a nonsense mutation’s effect on the protein sequence?
Answer: A premature stop codon causes an early, shorter protein. Creates UAA, UAG, or UGA codons that terminate translation.
Flashcard 10: What is a missense mutation’s effect on the protein sequence?
Answer: One amino acid is changed to a different amino acid. Codon change results in a different amino acid substitution.
Flashcard 11: Which mutation type removes nucleotide(s) from a gene sequence?
Answer: Deletion. Removes bases from the original DNA sequence.
Flashcard 12: Which mutation type adds extra nucleotide(s) into a gene sequence?
Answer: Insertion. Adds bases between existing nucleotides in the sequence.
Flashcard 13: Which mutation type changes one DNA base to another base?
Answer: Substitution (point mutation). Replaces one nucleotide with a different nucleotide.
Flashcard 14: What does a mutation mean in a gene?
Answer: A change in the DNA nucleotide sequence. Alters the genetic code that determines protein structure.
Flashcard 15: What is translation?
Answer: Using mRNA codons to assemble amino acids into a polypeptide. Ribosomes read mRNA triplets to build protein chains.
Flashcard 16: What is transcription?
Answer: Making an mRNA copy of a gene’s DNA sequence. RNA polymerase reads DNA to create messenger RNA.
Flashcard 17: What is the central dogma pathway from gene to protein?
Answer: DNA is transcribed to mRNA, and mRNA is translated to protein. Information flows from DNA through RNA to make proteins.
Flashcard 18: What is a silent mutation?
Answer: A DNA change that does not change the amino acid sequence. Multiple codons can code for the same amino acid due to redundancy.
Flashcard 19: What is an allele, and how can different alleles affect proteins?
Answer: Different versions of a gene that can produce different proteins. Alleles are gene variants; different sequences make different proteins.
Flashcard 20: Identify the best model to show how a premature stop affects a protein.
Answer: A shortened amino acid chain ending early at a stop codon. Shows how stop codons truncate proteins, losing functional domains.
Flashcard 21: Which mutation type is most likely to leave a protein unchanged in function?
Answer: Silent mutation. The amino acid sequence remains identical despite the DNA change.
Flashcard 22: What does it mean when a protein loses function after a mutation?
Answer: The altered amino acid sequence changed folding or the active site. Mutations disrupted the 3D structure required for proper function.
Flashcard 23: What is the relationship between amino acid order and protein shape?
Answer: Amino acid sequence determines folding, and folding determines shape. The sequence creates the 3D structure needed for protein function.
Flashcard 24: Identify the most likely outcome of a frameshift early in a gene.
Answer: Many downstream amino acids change; protein often becomes nonfunctional. Shifting the reading frame scrambles all codons after the mutation.
Flashcard 25: Which model best shows how a substitution can change a protein?
Answer: Codon chart mapping changed codon to a different amino acid. Shows how changing one base changes the codon and its amino acid.
Flashcard 26: What is a nonsense mutation?
Answer: A DNA change that creates a premature stop codon. The mutated codon becomes UAA, UAG, or UGA, ending translation early.
Flashcard 27: What is a missense mutation?
Answer: A DNA change that substitutes one amino acid for another. The new codon specifies a different amino acid than the original.
Flashcard 28: What is a gene in the context of protein production?
Answer: A DNA segment that codes for a specific protein or RNA. Genes contain instructions that cells use to build specific molecules.
Flashcard 29: What is the correct flow of information in the central dogma?
Answer: DNA
rightarrow
RNA
rightarrow
protein. Information flows from genetic material to RNA to functional proteins.
Flashcard 30: What is a mutation?
Answer: A change in the DNA nucleotide sequence. Mutations alter the genetic code, potentially changing protein structure.