nucleic acid: RNA and Protein Synthesis

In order to be expressed as protein, the genetic information must be carried to the protein-synthesizing machinery of the cell, which is in the cell's cytoplasm (see cell). One form of RNA mediates this process. RNA is similar to DNA, but contains the sugar ribose instead of deoxyribose and the base uracil (U) instead of thymine. To initiate the process of information transfer, one strand of the double-stranded DNA chain serves as a template for the synthesis of a single strand of RNA that is complementary to the DNA strand (e.g., the DNA sequence AGTC will specify an RNA sequence UCAG). This process is called transcription and is mediated by enzymes.

The newly synthesized RNA, called messenger RNA, or mRNA, moves quickly to bodies in the cytoplasm called ribosomes, which are composed of two particles made of protein bound to ribosomal RNA, or rRNA. Each ribosome is the site of synthesis of a polypeptide chain. Several ribosomes attach to a single mRNA so that many polypeptide chains are synthesized from the same mRNA; each cluster of an mRNA and ribosomes is called a polyribosome or polysome. The nucleotide sequence of the mRNA is translated into the amino acid sequence of a protein by adaptor molecules composed of a third type of RNA called transfer RNA, or tRNA. There are many different species of tRNA, with each species binding one of 20 amino acids.

In protein synthesis, a nucleotide sequence along the mRNA does not specify an amino acid directly; rather, it specifies a particular species of tRNA. For example, in coding for the amino acid tyrosine, a nucleotide sequence of mRNA is complementary to a portion of a tyrosine-tRNA molecule. As each specified tRNA associates with its complementary space on the mRNA, the amino acid is added onto the lengthening protein chain and the tRNA is released. When the protein chain is complete, it is released from the ribosome.

The particular sequence of amino acids in each polypeptide chain is determined by the genetic code. Starting at one end of the mRNA strand, each 3-nucleotide sequence, or codon, specifies, via complementary tRNA sequences, one amino acid, and the series of such codons in the mRNA specifies a polypeptide chain. Although a “vocabulary” of 64 words, or specifications, is theoretically possible with 4 different nucleotides taken three at a time, there are only 20 amino acids to be specified. However, several triplets may code for the same amino acid; for example UAU and UAC both code for the amino acid tyrosine. In addition, there are some codons that do not code for amino acids but code for polypeptide chain initiation and polypeptide chain termination. The code is also nonoverlapping; i.e., a nucleotide in one codon is never part of either adjacent codon. The code seems to be universal in all living organisms.

The determination of the mechanism of protein synthesis has increased understanding of many genetic processes and permitted such developments as bioengineering. Some mutagens, or mutation-inducing agents, cause the substitution of one nucleotide for another in an mRNA strand; other mutagens cause deletion or addition of nucleotides. Decoding, or reading, of such strands will be altered.

Metabolic regulation has been studied to determine how the genes that control enzyme synthesis can be switched on and off when certain substances are present. For example, in the process known as induction, bacteria synthesize the enzyme β-galactosidase only when lactose is present. Induction has been linked to the activity at a so-called operator site on a chromosome. When the operator site is open, the genes it controls function freely; when it is blocked, as by a repressor molecule, the genes it controls also do not function.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• RNA and Protein Synthesis
• DNA
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Genetics and Genetic Engineering