| A | B |
|---|
| Transformation | process in which one strain of bacteria is changed by a gene from other organisms |
| Bacteriophage | virus that infects bacteria |
| Nucleotide | monomer of nucleic acids made up of a 5 carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base |
| base pairing | principle that bonds in DNA can form only between adenine and thymine and between guanine and cytosine |
| chromatin | granular material visible within the nucleus – DNA coiled around histones |
| histone | protein around which DNA is tightly coiled in chromatin |
| replication | copying process by which a cell duplicates its DNA |
| DNA polymerase | enzyme that proofreads new DNA strands |
| Gene | sequence of DNA that codes for a protein |
| messenger RNA | carries instructions for the assembly of amino acids into proteins from DNA to ribosomes |
| ribosomal RNA | makes up ribosomes |
| transfer RNA | RNA molecule that brings amino acids to ribosomes during protein synthesis |
| transcription | DNA is copied into complementary sequence in RNA |
| RNA polymerase | Enzyme that binds DNA and separates the DNA strands during transcription |
| Promoter | region of DNA that indicates to an enzyme where to bind to make RNA |
| Intron | intervening sequence of DNA (does not code for protein) |
| Exon | expressed sequence of DNA (codes for protein) |
| Codon | three nucleotide sequence on mRNA that codes for a single amino acid |
| translation | decoding of a mRNA message into a polypeptide chain |
| anticodon | group of three bases on a tRNA molecule that are complementary to an mRNA codon |
| mutation | change in DNA sequence, that affects genetic information |
| point mutation | mutation that affects a single nucleotide, usually by substituting one nucleotide for another |
| frameshift mutation | mutation that shifts the “reading” frame of the genetic message by inserting or deleting a nucleotide |
| polyploidy | condition in which an organism has extra sets of chromosomes |
| operator | region of chromosome in an operon to which the repressor binds when the operon is “turned off” |
| differentiation | process in which cells become specialized in structure and function |
| hox gene | series of genes that controls the organs and tissues that develop in various parts of an embryo |
