FREE BACE Genetics Flashcards
6 cards from real BACE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 FREE BACE Genetics flashcards as text
What is the central dogma of molecular biology?
Answer: DNA to RNA to Protein describes the flow of genetic information from storage to functional form
The central dogma states that genetic information flows from DNA (storage) to RNA (transcription) to protein (translation), with replication maintaining the DNA blueprint.
What is the difference between a gene and an allele?
Answer: A gene is a hereditary unit encoding a trait; an allele is one of the alternative forms of that gene at a specific chromosomal locus
A gene is a specific DNA sequence that encodes a functional product; alleles are the different sequence variants of that gene that can exist at the same chromosomal locus.
What is the result of a frameshift mutation in a protein-coding gene?
Answer: A shift in the reading frame that alters all downstream codons usually producing a truncated or non-functional protein
A frameshift mutation (insertion or deletion of non-multiple-of-3 nucleotides) shifts the triplet codon reading frame, causing all downstream amino acids to change and often introducing premature stop codons.
What is a promoter in the context of gene expression?
Answer: A DNA sequence upstream of a gene where RNA polymerase binds to initiate transcription
A promoter is a regulatory DNA sequence upstream (5') of a gene that RNA polymerase recognizes and binds to, initiating transcription of the gene.
What is the purpose of gel electrophoresis in genetic analysis?
Answer: To separate DNA fragments by size in an electric field for visualization and analysis
Gel electrophoresis separates DNA fragments by size as they migrate through agarose under an electric field — smaller fragments move faster, allowing size-based analysis of DNA samples.
What is epigenetics in the context of gene regulation?
Answer: Heritable changes in gene expression that do not involve changes in the DNA nucleotide sequence (e.g., methylation, histone modification)
Epigenetics refers to heritable changes in gene expression or chromatin structure that do not alter the underlying DNA sequence — including DNA methylation and histone modifications.