Protein synthesis

• What is the process of making proteins called?

  Protein synthesis
• What are the two main steps of protein synthesis?

  Transcription and translation
• What happens during transcription?

  A gene is copied into mRNA
• What is the role of mRNA in protein synthesis?

  It carries the genetic code to ribosomes
• What does mRNA stand for?

  Messenger RNA
• Why can't DNA leave the nucleus?

  Because DNA is too large
• What is the structure of mRNA compared to DNA?

  Single strand and shorter
• What base does mRNA contain instead of thymine?

  Uracil
• What enzyme initiates transcription?

  RNA polymerase
• What happens to the DNA strands during transcription?

  They separate to expose bases
• How does RNA polymerase read the DNA bases?

  One by one to form mRNA
• What is the relationship between DNA and mRNA bases?

  mRNA bases are complementary to DNA bases
• What is the template strand in transcription?

  The DNA strand used to make mRNA
• What does each group of three bases in mRNA code for?

  A specific amino acid
• How many different amino acids do cells use?

  20 different amino acids
• What is the role of tRNA in translation?

  It brings amino acids to the ribosome
• What does the anticodon on tRNA do?

  It is complementary to mRNA codons
• How does the ribosome build a protein?

  By joining amino acids in order
• What happens to the tRNA after it delivers its amino acid?

  It detaches and can be reused
• What occurs at the end of translation?

  The amino acid chain detaches from ribosome
• What are the steps of transcription?

  1. RNA polymerase binds to DNA
  2. DNA strands separate
  3. RNA polymerase reads DNA bases
  4. mRNA is synthesized
  5. RNA polymerase detaches from DNA
• What are the steps of translation?

  1. mRNA binds to ribosome
  2. tRNA brings amino acids
  3. Ribosome joins amino acids
  4. Process repeats until protein is formed
  5. Amino acid chain detaches
• How do transcription and translation work together in protein synthesis?

  • Transcription copies DNA to mRNA
  • mRNA carries code to ribosome
  • Translation assembles amino acids into proteins
• What are the differences between DNA and RNA?

  • DNA: double-stranded, contains thymine
  • RNA: single-stranded, contains uracil
  • DNA: longer, stores genetic information
  • RNA: shorter, involved in protein synthesis
• What is the significance of codons in protein synthesis?

  • Codons are triplets of bases
  • Each codon codes for a specific amino acid
  • Essential for accurate protein assembly