Gene Expression Vocabulary

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DNA

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molecule that carries genetic information for the organism; deoxyribonucleic acid

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nitrogenous base

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nitrogen-containing compound that forms part of the nucleotide; letter code in DNA and RNA

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nucleotide

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molecule made up of a phosphate, sugar, and nitrogenous base; monomer of nucleic acids

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complementary base pairing

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nucleotides that pair together by hydrogen bonds; A-T G-C in DNA; A-U G-C in RNA

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Gene

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segment of DNA that codes for a protein; influences how we look and how our bodies function

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RNA

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a single-stranded nucleic acid that contains uracil instead of thymine

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mRNA

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type of RNA that is a copy of a specific DNA sequence; created by the cell for transferring the genetic information in DNA to a ribosome to make a protein

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tRNA

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type of RNA molecule that is responsible for transporting amino acids to the ribosome in protein synthesis

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transcription

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the process in which a strand of DNA is copied into an mRNA strand for protein synthesis; occurs in the nucleus

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codon

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a sequence of 3 nucleotides in mRNA that codes for a specific amino acid