Translation and Mutations

Front

What is the function of ribosomes in a cell?

Back

Ribosomes are the organelles where protein synthesis occurs, translating messenger RNA (mRNA) into polypeptide chains.

Front

Describe the central dogma of molecular biology.

Back

The central dogma of molecular biology describes the flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to protein.

Front

What is a silent mutation?

Back

A silent mutation is a type of mutation that changes a DNA base but does not change the amino acid sequence of the resulting protein.

Front

What is a frameshift mutation?

Back

A frameshift mutation occurs when nucleotides are added or deleted from the DNA sequence, altering the reading frame and potentially changing all subsequent amino acids.

Front

Define point mutation.

Back

A point mutation is a change in a single nucleotide base in the DNA sequence, which can result in a different amino acid being incorporated into a protein.

Front

What are the three types of mutations that can occur in DNA?

Back

The three types of mutations are point mutations, frameshift mutations, and silent mutations.

Front

How does a frameshift mutation affect protein synthesis?

Back

A frameshift mutation can lead to a completely different and often nonfunctional protein due to the alteration of the reading frame.

Front

What is the role of messenger RNA (mRNA) in protein synthesis?

Back

mRNA serves as the template for translating genetic information from DNA into a sequence of amino acids during protein synthesis.

Front

What is the difference between DNA and RNA?

Back

DNA is double-stranded and contains the sugar deoxyribose, while RNA is single-stranded and contains the sugar ribose.

Front

What is the significance of the genetic code?

Back

The genetic code is a set of rules that defines how the sequence of nucleotides in DNA and RNA is translated into the amino acid sequence of proteins.