2.3 Nucleic acids

• DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid.
• DNA replication is required for cell division and the production of gametes (reproduction).
• DNA is duplicated semi-conservatively. This is where one strand made of half the original and half new.
• Translation is the process of converting the information in a gene into a sequence of amino acids.
• Transcription is the process of copying the DNA into RNA.
• A DNA nucleotide is made of three parts: a phosphate group, a pentose sugar, and a nitrogenous base.
• Protein synthesis is the process that cells make proteins from amino acids.
• The five bases of DNA are adenine, cytosine, guanine, thymine, and uracil.
• Adanine and thymine/uracil join together and form two hydrogen bonds.
• Cytosine and Guanine bind together and form 3 hydrogen bonds.
• The genetic code is universal, degenerate and non-overlapping.
• The three forms of RNA are mRNA (messenger), tRNA (transfer), and rRNA (ribosomal).
• A condensation reaction bonds nucleotides together, forming a phosphodiester bond.
• The three DNA enzymes are helicase, DNA polymerase and DNA ligase.
• Helicase separates DNA strands before replication.
• DNA polymerase catalyses the formation of a new polyneotide chain.
• DNA ligase joins two fragments of DNA to form one continuous molecule.
• Adanine and Guanine are purines, each have two rings.
• Thymine/uracil and cytosine are pyrimidines and each have a single ring.
• Double helix: A molecule of DNA that is made up of two strands of nucleotides held together by hydrogen bonds
• Nucleotide: A monomer of DNA or RNA consisting of a phosphate group, a pentose sugar, and a nitrogen-containing base
• Semi-conservative replication: how DNA replicates, resulting in two new molecules, each of which contains one old strand and one new strand.
• gene: a sequence of DNA that codes for a specific protein or RNA
• ADP only has two phosphates. ADP is a nucleotide that is used to make ATP.

  
• ATP is how energy is found in the body. It has 3 phosphates.

  
• DNA nucleotide sequence is the genetic code that determines the amino acid sequence of a protein.