AP Biology: Chapter 12 – From Gene to Protein p.

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1. What was Beadle and Tatum’s hypothesis regarding enzymes?

Each gene is responsible for the production of one enzyme

2. How has that hypothesis been modified?

It has been modified due to the discovery of polypeptide chains on the genes.

3. How is RNA similar to DNA and how is it different?

Both share three of the same nitrogen bases, but DNA has thymine, while RNA has uracil. Both

use a pentose sugar, where RNA has ribose and DNA has deoxyribose. Both are made of

nucleotides and are necessary to protein creation.

4. What are the three major classes of RNA? List each and their purpose.

Messenger RNA (mRNA) - Encodes amino acid sequence of a polypeptide.

Transfer RNA (tRNA) - Brings amino acids to ribosomes during translation.

Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) - With ribosomal proteins, makes up the ribosomes, the organelles that

translate the mRNA.

Small Nuclear RNA (snRNA) - With proteins, forms complexes that are used in RNA processing

in eukaryotes.

5. What occurs during transcription?

An mRNA is created from the DNA, specifically made to code for a certain protein

6. What occurs during translation?

The bases on the mRNA are used to code for the creation of a protein

7. What do they mean by the “Central Dogma” of molecular biology?

The central dogma refers to the two-step process for protein creation, Transcription and

Translation.

8. What is the Genetic Code?

The translation system between the nucleotides of DNA and RNA, and the amino acids that

make up proteins

9. What are the features of the genetic code? Explain each.

There are 61 codons which code for about 20 amino acids. There are three codons that don’t

code for anything, called stop codons. The only punctuation is the stop codon to end translation.

It is initiated by AUG.

10. Why is the genetic code said to be universal?

Almost every organism on Earth has the same genetic code.

11. List the highlights of the three stages of transcription.

a. Initiation – RNA polymerase attaches to the promotor region of DNA

b. Elongation – mRNA is built

c. Termination – release of RNA polymerase and mRNA after transcription

12. What happens to the transcript RNA before it leaves the nucleus?

It is modified and receives a cap on the 5’ end and a tail on the 3’ end.

13. What is the advantage of the 5’ cap and poly A tail?

The 5’ cap tells the ribosomes where to attach for translation. The tail fascilitates mRNA

transport out of the nucleus, initiates the loading of ribosomes, and delays degradation of mRNA

by hydrolytic enzymes.

14. Distinguish between exons and introns.

Axon – protein coding regions

Intron – non protein coding regions

 15. Describe the mechanism for splicing RNA.

RNA splicing is carried out by spliceosomes, which contain snRNA. Through complimentary

base pairing, snRNA can identify introns to be removed. A spliceosome utilizes a ribozyme to

remove the intron.

16. What does alternative RNA processing do for cells?

RNA processing prepares mRNA to leave the nucleus and undergo translation

17. Identify the roles of the players of the translation process.

a. Transfer RNA – transfer amino acids to ribosomes

b. Ribosomes – 1 binding site for mRNA, 3 for tRNA; The tRNA binding sites

facilitate complimentary base pairing between tRNA anticodons and mRNA

codons

18. Identify and briefly describe the steps of translation.

a. Initiation – Proteins known as initiation factors assemble mRNA, tRNA, and the

large ribosomal subunit for the start of protein synthesis

b. Elongation – Amino acids are added to the polypeptide chain

c. Termination – The polypeptide is separated from the RNA and ribosomal subunit

as protein synthesis concludes

19. What is the advantage of polyribosomes?

Polyribosomes remain free in the cytoplasm unattached