Protein synthesis

What is protein synthesis?

The process by which cells produce proteins using the genetic information carried by genes (DNA).

What are the two processes involved in protein synthesis?

Transcription and Translation.

Where does transcription occur?

Transcription occurs in the nucleus.

What is the product of transcription?

The product of transcription is m-RNA.

What are the initial steps of transcription?

1. Unwind the double helix. 2. Unzip the double strand by RNA polymerase. 3. Addition of complementary bases with T replaced by U to form m-RNA.

What is the difference in the number of strands between DNA and RNA?

DNA has 2 strands while RNA has 1 strand.

What sugar is found in DNA?

Deoxyribose.

What is the hypothesis regarding m-RNA synthesis?

m-RNA is synthesized in the nucleus and is exported toward the cytoplasm.

What is translation?

The process of translating m-RNA to a sequence of amino acids to produce a polypeptide chain.

Where does translation occur?

Translation occurs in the cytoplasm.

What is the product of translation?

The product of translation is a peptide chain.

What are the tools needed for translation?

1. m-RNA, 2. t-RNA, 3. Ribosome.

What happens during the initiation step of translation?

The small ribosomal subunit binds to m-RNA at the start codon, and initiator t-RNA binds to the start codon of m-RNA.

What is a codon?

A sequence of three nucleotides on m-RNA that codes for a specific amino acid.

What happens during the termination step of translation?

The ribosome reaches the stop codon, translation stops, and the peptide is released.

What is a polysome?

A string of ribosomes simultaneously translating different regions of m-RNA to produce many peptides.

What is the significance of the genetic code being universal?

A codon codes for the same amino acid in all living things.

What does it mean for the genetic code to be redundant?

More than one codon can code for the same amino acid.