DNA
- The genetic material, consisting of nucleic acids (4 types)
- Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, Cytosine
- Cannot be sequenced directly; they must be subject to many biochemical steps for library preparation
base pair
- A unit of DNA made up of a nucleic acid
- Either ATGC
RNA
-Transcription generates RNA from DNA template
mRNA
- Stands for messenger RNA
- Type of RNA that codes for protein
- Consists of AUGC
- Uracil instead of Thymine
protein
- Made of amino-acids (20 of them)
- Protein information cannot flow back to nucleic acids
- Translation generates protein from RNA template
amino acid
- There are 20 of them
- Building blocks of protein
- Each has physical, chemical, and biological characteristics.
central dogma of molecular biology
-“deals with the detailed residue-by-residue transfer of sequential information. It states that such information cannot be transferred back from protein to either protein or nucleic acid.”
DNA replication
-The copying of DNA
transcription
-Generation of RNA from DNA template
translation
-Generation of protein from RNA template
chromosome
- bundled DNA, wrapped in histones
- DNA, chromatin, nucleosomes
splicing
-The adjoining of different exons in different combinations
alternative splicing
- A regulated process during gene expression that results in a single gene coding for multiple proteins
- particular exons of a gene may be included within or excluded from the final processed mRNA produced from that gene.
poly adenylation (poly-A tail)
- the addition of multiple adenosine to the 3’ end of pre-mRNA
- Important in mRNA nuclear export, stability, resistance to degradation
cellular differentiation
-The ability of a cell to produce different cells with very different physical characteristics despite having the same genome.
promoter
-a region of DNA that initiates transcription of a particular gene, located near the transcription star site of genes upstream of the DNA (toward the 5’)
exon
-nucleotide sequence encoded by a gene that remains present within the final mature RNA product of that gene after introns have been removed by RNA splicing
intron
-nucleotide sequence within a gene that is removed by RNA splicing while the final mature RNA product of a gene is being generated
5’UTR
-5’ untranscribed region of DNA
3’UTR
-3’ untranscribed region of DNA
TSS
- transcription start site
- labeled 3’ if it starts at the end of the 3’ end of the mRNA
- labeled 5’ if it starts at the end of the 5’ end of the mRNA
TES
-transcription end site
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technical replicates
- replicates that share the same sample (i.e. the measurements are repeated)
- usually not necessary, unless the goal is to study the technology
biological replicates
-the same type of organism is grown/treated under the same conditions
