Lecture 20, 21 Flashcards
What happens in translation
- Protein synthesis
- Nucleotide sequence in mRNA is translated by the tRNAs into an amino acid sequence in a polypeptide
What is one reasons why understanding the mechanism of protein translations important
improved protein expression systems in biotechnology
How does prokaryotes and eukaryotes differ in terms of where translation takes place
• in prokaryotes, protein synthesis can occur simultaneously with
transcription
• in eukaryotes DNA is confined to the nucleus; RNA is made in the
nucleus (transcription) but exported to the cytoplasm; protein
is synthesized in the cytoplasm
protein synthesis is usually proportional to what? Give an example
- the amount of RNA
in a cell
e.g. pancreatic cell - RNA-rich, produces large amount of proteolytic enzymes for digestion
e.g. muscle cell - RNA-poor, very low lvl of protein synthesis
What are the 3 important RNA players in translation?
mRNA, tRNA, rRNA
Role of mRNA in translation?
the intermediary
between gene and protein – provides the message that is read” by the tRNA adaptors and
translated into an amino acid sequence
Role of tRNA in translation?
the key or adaptor –
reads the genetic code, brings amino acids to the growing polypeptide chain
Role of rRNA in translation?
in ribosome, provides a
scaffold for protein synthesis, catalyzes peptide bond
formation
How does the enzyme tRNA synthetase start translation?
It attaches an AA onto one end of a tRNA. Next, the tRNA brings that aa to the growing polypeptide in the ribosome, selected by base pairing between a three-nucleotide anticodon on the tRNA and the three-nucleotide codon on mRNA.
What dictates which tRNA-aa complex will bind?
The nucleotide sequence of the mRNA dictates which tRNA-aa complex will bind.
What catalyzes the transfer of the amino acid from the tRNA to the growing polypeptide chain.
The ribosome
How does a tRNA synthetase know which AA to add to which tRNA?
Each tRNA is specific for a given AA and each tRNA synthetase is specific for a given tRNA and for its cognate AA. The synthetase recognizes the 3D structure of the tRNA,
including the anticodon and other parts of the tRNA – large interaction surface.
What is tRNA’s 2D representation
Cloverleaf because of base pairing
How many tRNA for each AA
At least one
What AA’s are at the 5’ and 3’ end of tRNA
most tRNAs have a G at the 5’ end and CCA at 3’ end
tRNA has how many arms/loops?
4
What part of the tRNA attaches to the carboyl end of an AA?
3’ end of the amino acid arm
The anticodon loop base pairs with what
codon on mRNA
Purpose of D loop and T-psi-C loop?
the D loop and the TyC loop (T-psi-C arm, T loop, T arm) contain modified
nucleotides (e.g., y, pseudo-uridine) and contribute to the 3D structure of the tRNA
What modifications are done to tRNA after transcription? Purpose?
- some of the tRNA bases are modified after transcription (processing)
- modifications may stabilize 3D structure, help recognition by tRNA synthetase
In what direction are the tRNA and mRNA strands aligned?
- They are antiparallel
- mRNA is 5’->3’ so tRNA is 3’->5’
- 1st base in codon of mRNA pairs with 3rd base in anticodon on tRNA
What is degeneracy?
in the genetic code: there are 64 codons for 20 amino acids so some amino acids are encoded for by more than one codon.
- A given tRNA will only bind to its cognate (i.e., matching) AA, but some tRNAs can base pair with more than one codon, and some amino acids have more than
one tRNA.
During protein synthesis, the sequence of nucleotides in the mRNA is read by each tRNA from the 5’ to 3’ end in sequential sets of?
Three nucleotides (codons)
How many possible reading frames are there?
- 3
- 1st reading frame is correct, 2nd reading frame is one shift to the right, 3rd is 2 shifts to the right