gene expression

• DNA are instructions that code for different amino acids to make proteins.
• Proteins build living organisms
• gene expression is the process by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product - usually protein
• gene expression is how proteins are made and all the different mutations and how the environment can change them
• proteins are large complex polymer molecules that play many critical roles in the body
• proteins do most of the work in call and are required for the structure, function and regulation of the body's tissues and organs
• proteins are made up of hundreds and thousands of smaller units (monomers) called amino acids which are attached to one another in a long poly peptide chain
• there are 20 different types of amino acids that can be combined to make a protein
• the sequence of amino acids determines each proteins unique structure and function
• DNA codes the instructions for each amino acid that is needed to make proteins
• DNA is a nucleic acid - information containing molecules in the cell.
• ribonucleic acid (RNA) is the other nucleic acid
• DNA is found in every nucleus of every human cell
• Information in DNA...

  • guides the cell in making new proteins that determine all our biological traits
  • gets passed (copied) from one generation to the next
• DNA in a cell is a pattern made up of 4 parts that are called nucleotides
• DNA is a long string of nucleotides
• Each nucleotide consists of a sugar, a phosphate and a base
• bases can be purines - double ringed structures; A,G
• bases can be pyrimides - single ringed structures; T, C
• DNA has 2 strands twisted together like a ladder - a double helix structure
• the phosphate of one nucleotide is covalently bonded to the sugar of the next nucleotide
• the hydrogen bonds between phosphates cause the DNA strand to twist
• each base pair is formed from 2 complementary nucleotides (purine with pyrimides) bound together by hydrogen bonds
• adenosine is with thymine
• cytosine is with guanine
• nucleotides are organic molecules that serve as the monomers, or subunits of nucleic acids like DNA and RNA
• a gene is a sequence of nucleotides
• nucleic acids are known as information molecules
• nucleic acids contain the inherited code for making proteins and controlling cellular activities
• the 2 types of nucleic acids

  • DNA - deoxyribose nucleic acid
  • RNA - ribose nucleic acid
• RNA has roles in coding, decoding, regulation and the expression of a gene
• dna - double stranded helical nucleic acid molecule

  rna - single stranded helical nucleic acid molecule
• dna - large

  rna - small
• dna - more stable

  rna - less stable
• dna - only has 1 form

  rna - has 3 different forms
• dna - has a deoxyribose sugar phosphate backbone

  rna - has a ribose sugar phosphate backbone
• dna - every set of 3 consecutive bases is known as a triplet code

  rna - every set of 3 consecutive bases is known as a codon
• dna - has the base pairs : c,g,a,t

  rna - has the base pairs : c,g,a,u
• dna - stores genetic information

  rna - conveys/transmits genetic information
• dna - found in the nucleus

  rna - can be found in the nucleus, cytoplasm and its ribosomes