RNA/ RNA Processing

• Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a temporary RNA version of a DNA recipe that gets sent to the ribosome.

• Ribosomal RNA (rRNA), makes up part of the ribosomes.

• Transfer RNA (tRNA) brings amino acids to the ribosomes. It brings the brings a specific amino acid into place at the appropriate time by matching anticodons to codons. It does by reading the message carried by the mRNA.

• The regions that express the code are exons.

• The noncoding regions in the mRNA are introns.

• Prokaryotes will transcribe a recipe that can be used to make several proteins. This is called a polycistronic transcript.

• Eukaryotes tend to have one gene that gets transcribed to one mRNA and translated into one protein. Our transcripts are monocistronic.

• The introns must be removed before the mRNA leaves the nucleus. This process, called splicing, is accomplished by an RNA-protein complex called a spliceosome.

• In addition, a poly(A) tail is added to the 3′ end

• And, a 5′ GTP cap is added to the 5′ end.

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