structure of ribonucleic acid

• Structure of mRNA and tRNA

  • single polynucleotide chain
  • a pentose sugar, ribose, and the bases adenine, uracil, guanine, and cytosine
• How is mRNA different to tRNA

  • longer polynucleotide chain
  • single stranded molecule
  • chemically unstable (only present when needed for protein synthesis)
• How is tRNA different to mRNA?

  • shorter polynucleotide chain
  • cloverleaf shaped (amino acid attachment site and anticodon binding site)
  • chemically stable
• What does mRNA do?

  Transfers genetic information from DNA to the ribosomes in a process called transcription

  • moves out of nucleus via nuclear pores into cytoplasm where it's codons act as a template for protein synthesis
• What is a codon?

  Sequence of 3 bases on mRNA that codes for a single amino acid
• What does tRNA do?

  anticodon on trna binds to complementary codon on mRNA carrying specific amino acid to growing polypeptide chain