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Credit to Khan Academy Unit 1 of AP biology Chemistry of Life
messenger RNA (mRNA)
Messenger RNA (mRNA) is an intermediate between a protein-coding gene and its protein product. If a cell needs to make a particular protein, the gene encoding the protein will be turned “on,” meaning an RNA-polymerizing enzyme will come and make an RNA copy, or transcript, of the gene’s DNA sequence. The transcript carries the same information as the DNA sequence of its gene. However, in the RNA molecule, the base T is replaced with U. For instance, if a DNA coding strand has the sequence 5’-AATTGCGC-3’, the sequence of the corresponding RNA will be 5’-AAUUGCGC-3’.
Once an mRNA has been produced, it will associate with a ribosome, a molecular machine that specializes in assembling proteins out of amino acids. The ribosome uses the information in the mRNA to make a protein of a specific sequence, “reading out” the mRNA’s nucleotides in groups of three (called codons) and adding a particular amino acid for each codon.
Ribosmal RNA (rRNA)
Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) is a major component of ribosomes, where it helps mRNA bind in the right spot so its sequence information can be read out. Some rRNAs also act as enzymes, meaning that they help accelerate (catalyze) chemical reactions – in this case, the formation of bonds that link amino acids to form a protein. RNAs that act as enzymes are known as ribozymes.
transfer RNA (tRNAS)
Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are also involved in protein synthesis, but their job is to act as carriers – to bring amino acids to the ribosome, ensuring that the amino acid added to the chain is the one specified by the mRNA. Transfer RNAs consist of a single strand of RNA, but this strand has complementary segments that stick together to make double-stranded regions. This base-pairing creates a complex 3D structure important to the function of the molecule.
regulatory RNA
Some types of non-coding RNAs (RNAs that do not encode proteins) help regulate the expression of other genes. Such RNAs may be called regulatory RNAs. For example, microRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs siRNAs are small regulatory RNA molecules about 22 nucleotides long. They bind to specific mRNA molecules (with partly or fully complementary sequences) and reduce their stability or interfere with their translation, providing a way for the cell to decrease or fine-tune levels of these mRNAs.
These are just some examples out of many types of noncoding and regulatory RNAs. Scientists are still discovering new varieties of noncoding RNA.
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