Biology Cheat Sheet

FYI poly means many (e.g. polynucleotide = many nucleotides, polypeptide = many peptides)

 Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a polynucleotide made up of 4 bases (nucleotides).

Guanine, Cytosine, Adenine & Thymine
o A sequence of three bases is called a triplet & codes for a single amino acid
o Complementary base pairing
 Guanine  Cytosine
 Adenine  Thymine
o Stored as chromosomes which is kept in the nucleus of cell
o A section of DNA that codes for a certain protein is called a gene
o Protein synthesis occurs in the cytoplasm, outside the nucleus. DNA needs a
way to go from inside the nucleus  cytoplasm so it can be “read” and synthesised
 This is done by Ribonucleic acid (RNA)

 Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polynucleotide made up of 4 bases (nucleotides). Guanine,

Cytosine, Adenine & Uracil
o A sequence of three bases is called a codon & codes for a single amino acid
o Complementary base pairing
 Guanine  Cytosine
 Adenine  Uracil
o Two Types of RNA
 mRNA (messenger RNA)
 A complimentary Template strand to DNA (basically a new coding
strand but with Uracil instead of Thymine)
 DNA is transcribed (copied) to form a mRNA in the nucleus
 Made up of codons which are groups of 3 nucleotides (bases)
 mRNA moves from the nucleus to the cytoplasm
 mRNA is translated by ribosomes in the cytoplasm
to form the an
amino acid chain (a protein)
 tRNA (transfer RNA)
 Carries amino acids to the ribosomes in the cytoplasm
 Anti-codon matches the mRNA’s codons which lines up the amino
acids in a specific order
 DNA Polymerase
o Unzips the double helix of DNA and attaches free nucleotides to create mRNA
Transcription
 Occurs in the nucleus
 A DNA molecule is a double helix with 2 strands
o The Coding/Complementary Strand – Reads 5’  3’
 Opposite of the template strand (T is now A, G is now C etc.)
 The strand that is the actual code for a protein
o The Template Strand – Reads 3’  5’
 Opposite of the coding strand (A is now T, C is now G etc.)
 The strand that is “read” and copied by RNA Polymerase
 Acts as a template for mRNA
 The enzyme RNA Polymerase binds to the template strand (specifically the promoter
codon sequence which is located at the 3’ end) & begins to “unzip” the helix so free
ribonucleotides (Guanine, Cytosine, Adenine & Uracil) can align with the template
strand, creating mRNA. In RNA, Uracil (U) is used instead of Thymine (T)
o As every sequence of 3 nucleotides in DNA is called a triplet, every sequence of 3
nucleotides in mRNA is called a codon. The first 3 nucleotides in mRNA at the 5’
end is the start codon.
 As RNA Polymerase moves along the template strand from 3’  5’, nucleotides are added
and the mRNA chain grows. RNA Polymerase then re-attaches the Template and Coding
strands behind it as it moves along.
o Comparing the new mRNA to the coding strand, they should be identical except
Thymine is replaced with Uracil
 For example, the coding strand is A-T-C-G-T, then RNA would be A-U-C-G-U

 As RNA Polymer reaches the 5’ end of the strand (the termination sequence) it detaches
from the mRNA molecule from the template strand.
 mRNA then leaves the nucleus through nuclear pores & enters the cytoplasm
Translation
 Occurs in the cytoplasm
 Proteins are a chain of amino acids & are synthesised using the mRNA code as a template
 Amino acids are attached to one end of the tRNA molecule (you don’t need to know how
at this level) with the anti-codon on the other side. Each tRNA has a specific type of
amino acid it can attach too

* tRNA shape & where the amino acid attaches

 A Ribosome attaches to the 5’ end of the mRNA and begins to “read” the mRNA chain
 tRNA carries its amino acid to the ribosome where it is attached to mRNA and matches it’s
complimentary anti-codons with the mRNA’s codons
o Anti-codons are basically just the 3 nucleotides that are complimentary for mRNA
codons 3 nucleotides
o For example, if mRNA is A-U-C-G-U-C-A-U, then tRNA would be U-A-G-C-A-G-U-A
 As the anti-codons are complimentary with the codons on the mRNA, the amino acid that
a tRNA molecule is carrying is also placed in a specific place
o As more tRNA molecule anti-codons arrive and attach to their complimentary
codons in a specific sequence. The amino acids are, in turn, lined up in a specific
sequence
 A ribosome contains enzymes that catalyse (create) the formation of peptide bonds
between the amino acids, thereby linking them together forming a polypeptide (a
protein)
 When the peptide bond is formed between 2 amino acids, the tRNA breaks off from its
amino acid and leaves the ribosome to pick up another amino acid of the same type.
 Eventually the ribosome comes to the 3’ end of the mRNA chain and reaches the stop
codon. The amino acid chain (the new protein) then breaks off from the ribosome
o Stop codons don’t code for any amino acids therefore cannot be paired with a
tRNA
 Protein Synthesis is now complete