Gene Expression and

Control

Ricin and Ribosomes

The ability to make proteins is critical to all life processes ricin

kills because it inactivates ribosomes that assemble proteins

The Nature of Genetic

Information
DNA carries all the genetic information

needed to build a new individual

Genetic information consists of base sequences
Genes are subunits of that sequence

Gene
Part of a DNA base sequence
Specifies structure of an RNA or protein product

Gene

From Gene to RNA to Protein

Gene expression
Process by which the information in a gene becomes

converted to an RNA or protein product

Gene expression involves transcription (DNA to

RNA), and translation (mRNA, or messenger RNA, to

protein)

Transcription (RNA Synthesis)

A genes nucleotide base sequence encodes
instructions for building an RNA or protein product.
Transcription
Process by which an RNA is assembled from

nucleotides using the base sequence of a gene as a

template
Messenger RNA (mRNA)
Type of RNA that has a protein-building message

Transcription (RNA Synthesis)

Three stages of Transcription process:
1.Initiation promoter site of gene is a recognition site

for RNA polymerase to bind.

2.Elongation RNA polymerase slides along the

template DNA. Complementary bases pair up to

produce mRNA molecule.

3.Termination Stage RNA polymerase reaches the

terminator site of the gene. mRNA is complete.

*need RNA polymerase

Transcription (RNA Synthesis)

Translation
Translation
Process by which a polypeptide chain is assembled

from amino acids in the order specified by an mRNA

Translation requires the participation of tRNA

(transfer RNA) and rRNA (ribosomal RNA)

Three Stages of Translation

Initiation
mRNA joins with an initiator tRNA and two ribosomal
subunits
Elongation
Ribosome joins amino acids delivered by tRNAs in
the order specified by mRNA codons
Termination
Polymerase encounters a stop codon; mRNA and
polypeptide are released; ribosome disassembles

RNA Players in Translation

Three types of RNA are involved in translation:

mRNA, rRNA, and tRNA

mRNA produced by transcription carries protein-

building information from DNA to the other two types

of RNA for translation

mRNA and the Genetic Code

The information in mRNA consists of sets of three

nucleotides (codons) that form words spelled

with the four bases A, C, G, and U
Codon
In mRNA, a nucleotide base triplet that codes for an

amino acid or stop signal during translation

mRNA and the Genetic Code

Sixty-four codons, most of which specify amino

acids, constitute the genetic code

20 amino acids in proteins; most have more than

one codon
Genetic code
Sixty-four mRNA codons; each specifies an amino

acid or a signal to start or stop translation

The Genetic Code

Translating mRNA to Amino

Acids

rRNA and tRNA the

Translators
Ribosomes and transfer RNAs (tRNA) interact to

translate an mRNA into a polypeptide

Ribosomes consist of two subunits of rRNA and

structural proteins
Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
A type of RNA that becomes part of ribosomes

Ribosomes

During translation, one large and one small

ribosomal subunit (rRNA) converge as a ribosome on

an mRNA
rRNA reads the mRNA and acts as an enzyme to

form peptide bonds between amino acids,

assembling them into a polypeptide chain

A Ribosome

tRNA

tRNAs deliver amino acids to ribosomes in the order

specified by mRNA
Transfer RNA (tRNA)
Type of RNA that delivers amino acids to a ribosome

during translation

tRNA

Each tRNA has two attachment sites

An anticodon that can base-pair with a codon
A site that binds to the kind of amino acid specified

by the codon
Anticodon
Set of three nucleotides in a tRNA
Base-pairs with mRNA codon

tRNA for Tryptophan

Translating the Code: RNA to

Protein
Translation, the second part of protein synthesis,

occurs in the cytoplasm of all cells

Translation is an energy-requiring process that

converts the protein-building information carried by

an mRNA into a polypeptide

Translation

Polysomes
In cells making a lot of protein, many ribosomes

may simultaneously translate the same mRNA

Polysome
Cluster of ribosomes that are simultaneously

translating an mRNA

Protein Synthesis