From DNA to Protein

Chapter 14
 RNA transcribed from DNA
• Messenger RNA (mRNA)- genes that specify
proteins that are transcribed. It is the only class
of RNA that carries the protein-building codes.
• Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)- is a component of
ribosomes, the structure in which polypeptide
chains are assembled.
• Transfer RNA (tRNA)- delivers amino acids one
by one to ribosomes in the order specified by
mRNA.
• RNA has four kinds of ribonucleotides each with
the five-carbon sugar ribose, one phosphate
group, and one base.
• The four bases in RNA are adenine, guanine,
cytosine, and uracil.
 Cont.
• Transcription differs from DNA replication in 3
aspects.
– Only part of one DNA strand is unwound and
used as a template.
– The enzyme RNA polymerase adds
ribonucleotides one at a time to the end of a
growing strand of RNA.
– Transcription results in one free RNA strand, not a
hydrogen-bonded double helix.
• Promoter- is a start signal, which is a base sequence
in DNA to which RNA polymerase bind and start
transcription.
• RNA polymerase recognizes a gene region and
moves along it.
 Cont.
• In eukaryotic cells the mRNA is modified before
leaving the nucleus.
– Which is considered pre-mRNA.
– Some are modified by adding a guanine cap to
the start of the pre-mRNA
– Some add 100-300 adenine ribonucleotides as a
tail, which we call a poly A tail.
• Exons- protein-coding base sequences.
• Introns- noncoding protein sequences.
• Both exons and introns are transcribed on the same
sequence but the introns are snipped out, which
produces mature mRNA.
• Alternative splicing- one gene can specify 2 or more
proteins that differ slightly in form and function.
 Genetic Code
• The mature mRNa must be read by the ribosome
in transcription and it does this by a three letter
code.
• The 3 letter code is the bases, they are read three
bases at a time.
• Codon- is the base triplets in mRNA.
• There are 64 different codons even though there
are only twenty amino acids.
• Certain codons can specify for more than one
amino acid.
• Start signal for transcription is AUG (methionine).
It is the first amino acid in all polypeptide chains.
 Other RNAs
• All cells have pools of tRNAs and amino acids in their
cytoplasm.
• The tRNA has a attachment site for an amino acid
which is anticodon.
• Anticodon- a ribonucleotide base triplet that can base-
pair complementary codon in a mRNA transcript.
• When the tRNA binds to the mRNA on a ribosome the
amino acid attached to each becomes positioned in
the order that the codon specifies.
• Ribosome have 2 subunits made of rRNA and
structural proteins.
– They are built in the nucleus and moved to the
cytoplasm.
– There is a large subunit and a small subunit.
– They only fucntion when a mRNA is attached to
them.
• Adenine pairs to uracil and cytosine pairs with
 Three Stages of Translation
• Initiation stage can only be started by one tRNA
and that is UAC, which is complementary to the
start codon of mRNA.
• The anticodon and the codon meet at the small
ribosomal subunit.
• Then the large ribosomal subunit joins to the
small subunit.
• Elongation stage a polypeptide chain is
synthesized while the mRNA passes between the
two ribosomal subunits.
• One region of the rRNA molecule located at the
center of the large ribosomal subunit is highly
acidic and it functions as an enzyme.
• It catalyzes the formation of peptide bonds
between amino acids.
 Cont.
• Termination-the last stage of translation
the stop codon from mRNA enters the
ribosome.
• Proteins called release factors bind to
the ribosome, which triggers enzyme
activity that detaches the mRNA and
the polypeptide chain from the
ribosome.
• Many new polypeptide chains carry out
their functions in the cytoplasm.
• Some have a special sequence that tell
 Mutated Genes and their
Protein Products
• Gene mutation- is when a base is either lost or
inserted in a DNA strand. This change may alter
the message that becomes encoded in mRNA.
• Base-pair substitution- when the wrong
nucleotide becomes paired with an exposed
base on the DNA template. This may produce
the wrong amino acid or a premature stop
codon.
• Frameshiftmutation- shifts the three base at a
time reading frame. There are two different
types.
– Insertions- is when one or more bases are inserted
into the DNA strand.
– Deletion is when one or more bases are deleted
from a DNA strand.
Transposons- can jump around a genome. They are
 Cont.
• Mutations can happen spontaneously in DNA
especially while its being replicated.
• DNA polymerase and ligase can fix most of the
mistakes.
• Mutations can also occur when DNA are exposed to
mutation-causing agents.
– Ionizing radiation (x-rays)- break chromosomes into
pieces. It can indirectly effect DNA also by leaving
behind free radicals.
– Nonionizing radiation- excites electrons to a higher
energy level. DNA absorbs UV light, which forms thymine
dimers ( a string of thymines bonded together it is very
bulky).
– Thymine dimers are the original mutation that lead to
cancer.
– Alkylating Agents- can transfer charged methyl or ethyl
groups to reactive sites in DNA. It makes DNA more
vulnerable to mistakes.
– If a mutation arises in somatic cells its effects will not be
passed on to offspring.