Bio Day 15 Translation Transcribe versus Translate The
Bio Day 15 Translation
Transcribe versus Translate • The terms transcription and translation are often confused, but they actually make sense if you consider what they mean: • Transcription: To make a copy • Translation: To change from one type to another • REMEMBER: • Transcription is only going from one type of nucleic acid to another • (DNA -> m. RNA) • Translation is completely changing the type of macromolecule • (m. RNA -> Protein) • Central Dogma of Genetics: DNA -> RNA -> Protein
RNA & Protein Synthesis • Following transcription, the m. RNA can leave the nucleus and move out into the cytoplasm. • Once in the cytoplasm, it looks for a special machine called a ribosome (also built out of RNA called r. RNA). • The ribosome reads the m. RNA, three letters at a time (called a codon), and “calls out” to another RNA called t. RNA (Transfer RNA) • The t. RNA is a special type of RNA that has a specific amino acid attached to the top of it. • It also has a matching anticodon attached to the bottom of the t. RNA.
The Genetic Code • It is almost as if a cell is “pre-programmed” with a guide for making life • If there was such a “program” it would need to be something contained in nearly EVERY cell, so that each cell could individually work at it • We call this program “the Genetic Code” • It is the control for life as we know it
Types of RNA in review • m. RNA: Messenger RNA • Is the blueprint photocopy of DNA (Remember Uracil instead of Thymine) • r. RNA: Ribosomal RNA • Is what the ribosome is made of (made inside of the nucleus in a structure called the nucleolus) • t. RNA: Transfer RNA • Carries the amino acid to the ribosome for protein synthesis • Attaches to the codon of m. RNA inside of the ribosome by its anticodon
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