13.1 Flashcards
What is RNA
RNA, is a nucleic acid that consists of a long chain of
nucleotides
First step in decoding
The first step in decoding these genetic instructions is to
copy part of base sequence from DNA into RNA.
Second step in decoding
RNA then uses these instructions to direct the production
of proteins which help to determine an organism’s
characteristics.
What are the nucleotide in RNA made up of
-Each nucleotide in RNA is made of phosphate group, a
nitrogenous base, and a 5-carbon sugar.
Three differences between RNA and DNA:
- The sugar in RNA is ribose instead of deoxyribose.
- RNA is generally single-stranded, not double-stranded.
- RNA contains uracil in place of thymine.
Functions of RNA
RNA has many functions, but most RNA molecules are
involved in protein synthesis (rRNA, mRNA, tRNA
What happens in transcription
In transcription, segments of DNA serve as templates to
produce complementary mRNA molecules
Transcription requires an enzyme, known as
RNA polymerase.
What does the RNA polymerase do
RNA polymerase binds to DNA during transcription and
separates the DNA strands.
Why do RNA polymerase dude DNA as a template
RNA polymerase then uses one strand of DNA as a template
from which to assemble nucleotides into a complementary
strand of mRNA.
promoters.
RNA polymerase binds only to regions of DNA that have
specific base sequences. These regions are called Promoters
The pieces of pre-mRNA molecules that are cut out, or
“edited out,” and discarded are called
Introns
they are spliced together to form the mRNA and its now ready to
leave the nucleus.
The remaining pieces are known as exons,
