DNA (key words)

• histone

  the protein that provides the structural support in a chromosome.
• chromosome

  the structural arrangement of a DNA molecule storing genetic information.
• homologous chromosome

  chromosomes exist in pairs, 1 inherited from the mother and 1 inherited from the father.
• gene

  the basic unit of heredity, a small locus of DNA that codes for a particular polypeptide chain and results in a specific characteristic.
• locus

  a specific part of a chromosome, where genes are located.
• genetic code

  the full sequence of bases in an organism's DNA
• karyotype 


  the picture of a person's chromosomes.
• degenerate code


  the genetic code is degenerate because there is often multiple triplets that code for the same amino acids.
• exons


  coding triplets.
• introns


  non-coding triplets.
• non-overlapping

  the genetic code is read as individual triplets. ACGGCT = AGG GCT. Bases are only read once.
• universal

  the same codons pretty much code for the same amino acid no matter the species.
• mRNA

  messenger RNA creates a template for the new protein sequence.
• tRNA


  tRNA binds to the mRNA template, bringing with it the corresponding amino acid.
• codon


  a triplet of bases.
• anticodon


  the complimentary bases for a codon.
• acceptor stem

  the opposite end of the tRNA molecule from the anticodon. Where the specific amino acid binds.
• pre-mRNA

  precursor mRNA is a complete complementary strand for the original template DNA.
• splicing


  in eukaryotes, precursor mRNA needs to be spliced, that is cut up into exon and intron segments with the exons re-joined. This removes any of the non-coding introns allowing the accurate polypeptide segment to be produced.
• ribosome

  residing in the cytoplasm ribosomes consist of RNA and associated proteins and enzymes. They bind to tRNA to mRNA and construct the resulting polypeptide chains.