Structure and properties of RNA? Flashcards

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1
Q

What is RNA made of?

A

Nucleic acid but has ribose instead of deoxyribose

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2
Q

Is RNA single or double stranded?

A

Single

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3
Q

What are the two parts to the RNA structure?

A

Hairpin

Stem

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4
Q

Are there hydrogen bonds in an RNA molecule?

A

Yes, at the stem between the two sides of the strand

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5
Q

What is transcription?

A

Making RNA from DNA

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6
Q

What is translation?

A

Making protein from RNA

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7
Q

Name the four types of RNA

A

mRNA
tRNA
rRNA
snRNA

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8
Q

What does mRNA do?

A

Messenger RNA

Encodes amino acid sequence of a polypeptide

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9
Q

What does tRNA do?

A

Transfer RNA

Brings amino acids to ribosomes during translation

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10
Q

What does rRNA do?

A

Ribosomal RNA
Makes up the ribosome
Organelle that translates the mRNA

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11
Q

What does snRNA do?

A

Small nuclear RNA
Forms protein complexes that process RNA
Eukaryotes only

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12
Q

What are the three parts of a protein-coding gene?

A

Promoter
Coding sequence
Terminator

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13
Q

What is the promoter?

A

A base-pair sequence that specifies where transcription begins

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14
Q

What is the coding sequence?

A

A base-pair sequence that includes coding information for the polypeptide chain specified by the gene

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15
Q

What is the terminator sequence?

A

A sequence that specifies the end of the mRNA transcript

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16
Q

What is pre-mRNA?

A

RNA made directly from the DNA
Contains introns
Requires splicing

17
Q

Describe the stages of transcription

A

DNA helicase unwinds the DNA forming the replication fork.
RNA polymerase comes in using transcription factors and recognises the promoter to begin transcription
Pre-mRNA is made in a 5’ to 3’ direction
RNA released and DNA helix reforms as RNA polymerase moves along
When terminator is reached, RNA polymerase stops and full pre-mRNA transcript is released

18
Q

How does prokaryotic and eukaryotic mRNA differ?

A

Prokaryotic mRNA is said to be colinear with the protein sequence
It requires no splicing

19
Q

In eukaryotic cells, what is added to the 5’ end of mRNA?

A

A cap of modified GTP
This occurs at the beginning of transcription
A signal for ribosomes to bind to the mRNA

20
Q

In eukaryotic cells, what is added to the 3’ end of mRNA

A
A poly(A) tail of 150 or more adenine nucleotides is added
It is needed for stability of the mRNA
21
Q

What are the stages to removing introns from pre-mRNA?

A

The intron loops out as snRNPs, snRNAs and proteins bind to form a spliceosome
The intron is excised and the exons spliced together

22
Q

What happens if introns are left in the mRNA transcript?

A

They will be translated and a variant of the protein will be produced which may or may not be functional.