protein synthesis - mechanisms Flashcards
what is the role of dna in gene expression
1) encodes all genes in an organism
2) can be replicated as information to rna (ie to form proteins)
what is an important mediator in protein synthesis (translation)
transfer RNA (tRNA) also called aminoacyl-tRNA
what is the structure of tRNA molecules
single stranded
1 amino acid covalently bound to the 3’ end via the CCA (cytosine cytosine adenine) arm
anticodon loop contains the anticodon
what is the property of the amino acid in tRNA molecules and what does this mean
amino acylated
so bound to the nucleotide
what is the anticodon in tRNA
- a base triplet
- template-recognition site (recognises codon on mRNA)
how do tRNAs bind to mRNAs
- via their anticodon binding to codon on mRNA
- brings amino acid to right position in the genetic code for protein synthesis
why is the secondary structure of tRNA distinct
- single stranded so folds back on itself
- base pairs with itself by INTRAmolecular base pairing (bases in the sequence are self-complimentary)
- to form anticodon loop
how is the amino acid in tRNA molecules amino-acylated
- adenine is the last base of the CCA arm on tRNA
- amino acid bound to the 3’ hydroxyl group of the terminal adenine via esterification
- forms aminoacyl tRNA loaded with correct amino acid
we always read a genetic code in…
triplets
what is each amino acid on a base sequence encoded by
groups of 3 nucleobases (nucleotide codes) starting from a fixed point
what are base sequence triplets in dna/rna translated to
correct corresponding amino acid ie ABCDEFGHI ABC = aa1 (amino acid 1) DEF = aa2 GHI = aa3
what 3 properties does the genetic (triplet) code have
redundant
unambiguous
universal
what is meant by redundancy of the genetic code
- only 20 amino acids make up most proteins
- BUT 64 possible triplet codons (variants of 4 bases combined to triplet sequence = 64 possibilities) to code for those
- SO several different triplet codon sequences can encode for the same amino acid
what is meant by unambiguity of the genetic code
- each codon can only encode 1 specific amino acid (or START or STOP)
redundancy compensated for by every tRNA being v specific for its encoded amino acid
what is meant by universality of the genetic code
- genetic code is universal
- all known living organisms use the same genetic code based on the same chemistry (common evolutionary ancestry)
what is scientific procedure is universality of the genetic code a fundamental concept for
genetic engineering
- can take genes from one organisms and transfer it to another
- the second organism still understands the code and is reprogrammed with the transferred gene
in a codon, what end is the
a) first base (1st position)
b) second base (2nd position)
a) 5’
b) 3’
what two codon tables do we have
1) translate mRNA into protein directly, has U instead of T
2) same genetic code as 1 but written for dna, T instead of U
what can be observed if we look at mitochondria
- preferential codon usage
- exceptions in standard codon codes
- code in mitochondria different from universal genetic code
why is the code in mitochondria different from universal genetic code
- derived from prokaryotes that have been taken up by the precursor eukaryotic cells
- so have their own translation machinery and genes
other than mitochondria where else is preferential codon usage visible
for the nuclear genome
what codons are different in mitochondria compared to the standard code
1) UGA = stop code in standard, Trp in mito
2) AUA = Ile standard, Met in mito
3) AGA + AGG = Arg standard, stop in mito
what codons are shown in green in genetic code tables
preferential codon
what codons are shown in red in genetic code tables
low usage codons