RNA - Biology

RNA is the key molecule involved in protein synthesis. During translation, the mRNA binds to a ribosome carrying a sequence of codons. The tRNA then binds to the ribosome/mRNA complex with the matching anticodon. The anticodon contains the three complimentary nucleotides to the codon.

Prokaryotes do not have nuclei. It is translation, not transcription, that occurs on ribosomes. tRNA is the type of RNA that brings amino acids to the ribosome; again, translation is the process of protein synthesis from amino acids. There are many differences between eukaryotic and prokaryotic transcription! These differences are monumental in differentiating between eukaryotes and prokaryoes. For example, in eukaryotes, transcription occurs in the nucleus and involves mRNA processing—adding a 5' cap, adding a 3' poly-A tail, and splicing out introns; none of these things are true for prokaryotes.

The genetic code is based on codons, which are sets of three nucleotides. mRNA is read in the triplet code; each codon specifies for an amino acid. The genetic code is redundant (one amino acid may be coded for by multiple codons), but each codon only codes for one amino acid, or the stop codon.

It is important to remember the base-pairing rules when discussing both DNA and RNA because they are the rules by which all of transcription and translation occur. In RNA, uracil takes the place of thymine, creating an A-D pair instead of an A-T pair. The structure of RNA is a single strand of alternating ribose and phosphate groups with nitrogenous bases attached to the ribose. One way that DNA and RNA differ is that DNA contains deoxyribose sugar while RNA contains the ribose sugar.

Transcription must occur first because it is the process that copies the genetic code from the DNA, and it must occur in the nucleus because DNA is too large a molecule to leave the nucleus. Next comes translation, which is the reading of the "photocopied" code (mRNA) after it leaves the nucleus and connects with a ribosome. After this, the mRNA binds with ribosomes and is translated to create proteins.

Ubuiqitin is a protein synthesized to tag worn out or defective proteins for recycling. Since this would only eliminate proteins that have already been synthesized, it would be more of a translational regulation process.

The other choices are common transcription regulators. Chromatin remodeling complexes are proteins that interact with the histones in chromatin. They are able to expand or condense the amount of coiling around histones and therefore allow greater or lesser access by transcription machinery to the DNA; thus, when the DNA is more tightly bound, it is less accessible and transcription is regulated. Our genes are broken into coding and non-coding sequences called exons and introns respectively. Alternative splicing is a process that alters the mRNA transcription product by selecting different combinations of exons to be joined together. This is an important process and allows the body to produce many more proteins than it normally would from the same quantity of genes. DNA binding motifs and their associated proteins are called transcription factors when interacting and they regulate transcription. They regulate by blocking a genes' promoter region (reduces the expression of that sequence) or they bond to the promoter to help the transcription machinery recognize that sequence and assemble itself (increases expression). Last, repressor proteins bond to promoter regions of genes they regulate. Often times the product of that gene is responsible for activating and inactivating that repressor. For example, a large quantity of a gene product can make it more likely for the repressor and that gene product (protein) to meet and join. This activity generally turns repressors on and transcription of that gene is reduced or stopped.

rRNA forms ribosomes.

tRNA is transport RNA, it joins amino acids to ribosomes to assemble a protein molecule

SnRNA is small nuclear RNA, it splices pre-mRNA to form mRNA

miRNA is microRNA, which regulates gene transcription and translation

mRNA is messenger RNA, carries the genetic code for controlling the protein formed.

Although RNA and DNA have some key differences that result in different functions, they also have some key similarities. Both are composed of nucleotide monomers linked together by phosphodiester bonds. They are also both read in the 5'-3' direction. It is important to know that the backbone of both DNA and RNA is made by phosphodiester bonds, but it is hydrogen bonds that bind two strands to DNA together to form the double-helix.

DNA and RNA both use adenine, cytosine, and guanine, but only DNA uses thymine and only RNA uses uracil. Only DNA is double-stranded; RNA is single-stranded. Deoxyribose, in DNA, is deoxygenated at the 2' carbon, but ribose in RNA is oxygenated.

DNA uses four nitrogenous bases: adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. Adenine residues bond to thymine residues, and cytosine binds to guanine.

During transcription, DNA is used as a template to generate mRNA. During this process, bases are matched to the DNA template and used to build a single strand of RNA. In RNA, there are also four nitrogenous bases: adenine, cytosine, guanine, and uracil. Thymine is not found in RNA.

DNA sequences contain the following nucleotides: adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G). Guanine and cytosine bases pair together, while adenine and thymine bases pair together. In RNA, thymine is replaced by uracil (U).

cDNA (and all DNA) sequences contain thymine (T) rather than uracil (U), which will form base pairs with adenine. Additionally, complementary DNA contains the "complement" of each RNA nucleotide. The resultant DNA will be oriented anti-parallel to the template RNA, and use complementary pairs of adenine-to-thymine and cytosine-to-guanine.

RNA: 3'-AUCGGAUGCACA-5'

DNA: 5'-TAGCCTACGTGT-3'

RNA goes through modifications known as "post-transcriptional modification" before it becomes a mature mRNA molecule. By the time that it is mature, it is allowed to leave the nucleus to interact with the ribosomes for translation. Ribosomes are free-floating in the cytoplasm of a cell and also on the rough endoplasmic reticulum. These are the targets of the mature mRNA.

The nucleus contains heteronuclear RNA (htRNA) before it becomes mature mRNA. The nucleolus accepts rRNA and helps form ribosomes subunits.

Each type of RNA is designed to complete a different function in the cell. Messenger RNA (mRNA) has a linear structure and provides the codon template for translation. Transfer RNA (tRNA) has a hairpin loop structure and carries amino acid residues to ribosomes for elongation of the polypeptide created from translation. Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) has a globular structure and forms an integral component of the ribosome subunits.

Despite their differences, all RNA molecules have the same backbone structure, which contains ribose sugars and phosphate groups, and the same nitrogenous bases: adenine, cytosine, guanine, and uracil.

RNA differs from DNA in that it contains a ribose instead of deoxyribose, uses uracil instead of thymine, and is not only found in the nucleus like DNA. In eukaryotes, RNA is transcribed in the nucleus, then it is exported into the cytoplasm where it binds to ribosomes during translation. RNA is indeed predominantly single-stranded.

RNA is different than DNA in that it 1) is single stranded (DNA is double stranded), 2) contains uracil (DNA contains thymine instead), and 3) contains a ribose sugar (DNA contains a deoxyribose sugar). And since both DNA and RNA are made up of nucleotides, they will both contain phosphates.

RNA is composed of the sugar ribose and contains the nitrogenous bases C, G, U, and A. RNA is single stranded and is essential for gene expression, transcription and translation of proteins. RNA is synthesized by DNA; only DNA contains hereditary information.

DNA is made up of Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, and Cytosine. RNA has these same bases, except in RNA, there is no Thymine. Instead, Uracil is found.

Thymine is exclusively present in DNA. Uracil replaces thymine in RNA; thus, RNA contains the following four nitrogenous bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and uracil.

RNA’s nucleotide components consist of a phosphate group, ribose, and nitrogenous bases. RNA’s nitrogenous bases include the purines adenine and guanine, and the pyrimidines cytosine and uracil. Thymine is a pyrimidine found exclusively in DNA.

RNA polymerase II is the primary protein responsible for generating mRNA.

RNA polymerases I and III transcribe other RNAs (such as tRNA and rRNA). DNA polymerase is responsible for DNA replication during the S phase of the cell cycle.