Department of Energy Argonne National Laboratory Office of Science NEWTON's Homepage NEWTON's Homepage
NEWTON, Ask A Scientist!
NEWTON Home Page NEWTON Teachers Visit Our Archives Ask A Question How To Ask A Question Question of the Week Our Expert Scientists Volunteer at NEWTON! Frequently Asked Questions Referencing NEWTON About NEWTON About Ask A Scientist Education At Argonne Messenger RNA 
Name: brador
Status: N/A
Age: N/A
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: Around 1993
Question:
How does messenger RNA work?


Replies:
mRNA attaches to an organelle in the cytoplasm called the ribosome. For each amino acid that will eventually end up in the final protein, there is a small separate RNA molecule called transfer, or t, RNA. The mRNA is "read" in order. First the tRNA molecule that matches the first 3 base pairs on the mRNA attaches to the mRNA on the ribosome, bringing its amino acid with it. Then the next 3 bases on the mRNA are read, and a second tRNA attaches to the mRNA, bringing its amino acid with it. This hooks up to the first amino acid, thus beginning the protein chain. And so on until the end. At the end, the mRNA has a three base sequence that terminates the process and releases the protein to be sent to wherever it goes in the cell. The mRNA can be "translated" in this way more than once to produce more than one identical proteins.

moodywj


Click here to return to the Biology Archives

NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.

For assistance with NEWTON contact a System Operator (help@newton.dep.anl.gov), or at Argonne's Educational Programs

NEWTON AND ASK A SCIENTIST
Educational Programs
Building 360
9700 S. Cass Ave.
Argonne, Illinois
60439-4845, USA
Update: June 2012
Weclome To Newton

Argonne National Laboratory