This content aims only to teach you how cell uses DNA and RNA to direct protein synthesis in the human anatomy. As the mind requires knowledge so does the body require protein and other nutritional benefits whatever it takes can afford. Briefly, we shall be looking at what both DNA and RNA share in common, and how they efficiently used by body cells.
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of all known organisms and many viruses. DNA and ribonucleic acid are nucleic acids.
DNA has two strands, and they are known as polynucleotides as they are composed of simpler monomeric units called nucleotides.
Each nucleotide is composed of one of four nitrogen containing nucleobases (cytosine [C], guanine [G], adenine [A] or thymine [T]), a sugar called deoxyribose, and a phosphate group.
Both strands of double-stranded DNA store the same biological information. This information is replicated when the two strands separate.
A large part of DNA (more than 98% for humans) is non-coding, meaning that these sections do not serve as patterns for protein sequences. The two strands of DNA run in opposite directions to each other and are thus antiparallel.
RNA
Meanwhile, ribonucleic acid is a polymeric molecule essential in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation and expression of genes. RNA and deoxyribonucleic acid are nucleic acids.
It carries out a broad range of functions, from translating genetic information into the molecular machines and structures of the cell to regulating the activity of genes during development, cellular differentiation, and changing environments. RNA is a unique polymer.
Some RNA molecules play an active role within cells by catalyzing biological reactions, controlling gene expression, or sensing and communicating responses to cellular signals. One of these active processes is protein synthesis, a universal function in which RNA molecules direct the synthesis of proteins on ribosomes.
This process uses transfer RNA (tRNA) molecules to deliver amino acids to the ribosome, where ribosomal RNA (rRNA) then links amino acids together to form coded proteins.
Cell and the Uses of DNA and RNA
The majority of genes carried in a cell’s DNA specify the amino acid sequence of proteins; the RNA molecules that are copied from these genes (which ultimately direct the synthesis of proteins) are called messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules. Let us therefore take a quick look at how cell uses DNA and RNA to direct protein synthesis:
Step-by-Step Approach for Protein Synthesis
The process of protein synthesis involves the use of both DNA and RNA to create proteins. DNA contains the genetic code for an organism, while RNA is responsible for carrying out the instructions encoded in the DNA.
- The first step in protein synthesis is transcription, in which a portion of DNA is copied into a complementary RNA molecule.
- This RNA molecule, called messenger RNA (mRNA), carries the genetic information from the DNA to the ribosome, the cellular machinery responsible for protein synthesis.
- Once the mRNA reaches the ribosome, the second step of protein synthesis, called translation, begins. During translation, the ribosome reads the information encoded in the mRNA and uses it to assemble a chain of amino acids in the correct order to form a protein.
- So, in summary, DNA provides the genetic code for an organism, which is transcribed into mRNA. The mRNA then carries this genetic information to the ribosome, which uses it to synthesize proteins by assembling amino acids in the correct order.
- The nucleus regulates all cell activity. It does this by controlling the enzymes present. The chromatin is composed of DNA. DNA contains the information for the production of proteins.
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This information is encoded in the 4 DNA bases. Adenine, thymine, cytokine, and guanine. The specific sequence of these bases tells the cell what order to put the amino acids.
3 Cell-Enablers for the Manufacture of Protein
There are three processes that enable the cell to manufacture protein:
- Replication allows the nucleus to make exact copies of its DNA.
- Transcription allows the cell to make RNA working copies of its DNA.
- Facilitation of the two acids for protein synthesis.
The Messenger RNA is used to line up amino acids into a protein molecule gene is a locatable region of genomic sequence, corresponding to a unit of inheritance, which is associated with regulatory regions, transcribed regions and/or other functional sequence regions.
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