WORD LIST- for DNA and some heredity
1. Complementary base pairs- The nucleotides that fit together to form the DNA double helix, adenine with thymine and cytosine with guanine . Here is a visual, if the original strand of DNA has the following bases: A T C G A T T C G A T (ORIGINAL OR TEMPLATE)
Then the complimentary bases would be: T A G C T A A G C T A (COMPLIMENT TO THE ORIGINAL)
2. Replication- the process of copying the original strand of DNA to form a new, IDENTICAL, strand of DNA so that when the cell divides the daughter cells have the same exact genetic information as the parent cell.
3. Mutation- any change in someone’s strand of DNA, it could be a few letters (bases) or just one base.
4. Protein synthesis- using a cells DNA to code for and then make a specific protein needed by the cell, three types of RNA are needed to do this.
5. Trait- a physical characteristic or feature of a person (ex; brown hair, tall, diabetic, blue eyes)
6. Genes- the segments of a person’s DNA that code for a certain trait.
7. Transcription- when mRNA copies a segment of DNA in order to take the message out of the nucleus and to a ribosome. It must be written in the RNA’s language which uses Uracil in place of thymine for a nitrogen base. The uracil still pairs up with Adenine.
8. mRNA- messenger RNA is the RNA responsible for sneaking into the nucleus of a cell and copying off a certain piece of DNA and then carrying that piece of the code out to a ribosome.
9. Codon- three letters of a mRNA strand that determine which amino acid is to be made by a ribosome.
10. Translation- when the code made by the mRNA gets turned into an amino acid in a ribosome.
11. rRNA- is ribosomal RNA, it’s what makes up the ribosome and turns a codon into an amino acid.
12. tRNA- is the type of RNA that puts all of the amino acids in the correct order to form the proper protein. It has a complimentary RNA code for the newly produced amino acid to hook on to.
13. Polypeptide bond- it’s what connects one amino acid to another to make a complete protein.
14. Non-disjunction- When the chromosomes are not pulled apart evenly during anaphase of meiosis. This is what leads to Down’s syndrome (aka: trisomy 21 which means three of the 21st chromosome).
15. Phenotype- the physical characteristic or trait of an individual, brown hair describes a person’s phenotype.
16. Genotype- the genetic code for a person’s trait(s). BB is a person’s genotype for Brown hair ( this genotype is homozygous – two of the same letters BB).
17. Homozygous-a person has the same letters (or alleles) for a given trait, BB or bb.
18. Heterozygous- a person has two different choices for a trait, Bb.
19. Zygote- forms when the egg and the sperm unite and make the first cell of a new organism.
20. Allele- a choice for a trait, you have two alleles for every trait in your body, one from mom and one from dad.
