monomer, or building block, of a polypeptide (protein)

specifically designed to build or operate a component of a living cell (ex. human insulin & hemoglobin)

a characteristic of an organism that is determined by protein structure & function (ex. hitchhiker's thumb)

section of DNA that codes for a protein and thus determines a trait

deoxyribose sugar vs. ribose sugar, thymine vs. uracil , double strand vs. single strand

nitrogenous base specific to RNA in place of thymine (A-U)

process where a part of DNA is copied into a complementary sequence of messenger RNA

type of RNA that carries a copy of the genetic code from the DNA to the ribosomes

the DNA strand that is used as the code to "build" a complementary strand of mRNA

enzyme that assembles the mRNA complementary strand by joining ribonucleotides

three-nucleotide base sequence (triplet) on DNA and mRNA that codes for a single amino acid

nucleus

decoding of a mRNA sequence into a polypeptide chain / protein

at the ribosomes

type of RNA that transfers the amino acids to the ribosome

three-nucleotide base sequence (triplet) on tRNA that codes for an amino acid

the 4-letter code; always use the chart reading the mRNA strand

mutation involving change in one nucleotide; example is a substitution

change in a DNA sequence that affects genetic information

point mutation in which one nitrogeneous base (nucleotide) is changed to another

mutation that shifts the "reading frame" of the genetic message; includes insertions and deletions

frame-shift mutation where a nucleotide is added to the genetic material

frame-shift mutation where a nucleotide is deleted from the genetic material

mutation that does not result in a change to the amino acid sequence of a protein; also called neutral

can be neutral with no effect, harmful by producing defective proteins/traits, or beneficial by increasing chance of survival