What is RNA?
ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a nucleic acid polymer consisting of nucleotide monomers, that acts as a messenger between DNA and ribosomes, and that is also responsible for making proteins out of amino acids.[1] RNA polynucleotides contain ribose sugars and predominantly uracil unlike deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which contains deoxyribose and predominantly thymine. It is transcribed (synthesized) from DNA by enzymes called RNA polymerases and further processed by other enzymes. RNA serves as the template for translation of genes into proteins, transferring amino acids to the ribosome to form proteins, and also translating the transcript into proteins. Messenger RNA is RNA that carries information from DNA to the ribosome sites of protein synthesis in the cell. Once mRNA has been transcribed from DNA, it is exported from the nucleus into the cytoplasm (in eukaryotes mRNA is “processed” before being exported), where it is bound to ribosomes and translated into its corresponding protein form
Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a chain of nucleotides present in the cells of all life. RNA has a number of important functions for living organisms, ranging from the regulation of gene expression to assistance with copying genes. Severo Ochoa, Robert Holley, and Carl Woese all played critical roles in discovering RNA and understanding how it worked, and more research on RNA is constantly being performed. Many people are familiar with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), a nucleic acid which is often referred to as the “building blocks of life” because it contains the genetic material for its parent organism. RNA is equally important, even if it is lesser known, because RNA plays a critical role in helping DNA to copy and express genes, and to transport genetic material around in the cell. RNA also has a number of independent functions which are no less important. RNA strands have a backbone made from groups of phosphates and ribose, to which four bases can attach. The four bases in RNA are adenine
RNA has the same primary structure as DNA. It consists of a sugar-phosphate backbone, with nucleosides attached to the 1′ carbon of the sugar. Differences between DNA & RNA There are three significant differences: 1. RNA has a hydroxyl group on the 2′ carbon of the sugar. This is the primary difference between deoxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic acid. 2. DNA uses the nucleoside thymine while RNA uses a nucleoside called uracil: A comparison between RNA & DNA. Note the difference in pattern. RNA is less rigid. 3. RNA molecules are not restricted to a rigid double helix and can thus form many different tertiary structures. Each RNA molecule, depending on the sequence of its bases, can fold into a stable three-dimensional structure. A typical RNA pattern. Different types of RNA mRNA – messenger RNA This is a copy of a gene. It acts as a photocopy by having a sequence complementary to one strand of the DNA and identical to the other strand. The mRNA acts as a bus-boy (busybody) to carry
While DNA is meant to provide the genetic information used in heredity and as the blueprints for building all the proteins in the human body, RNA’s jobs vary from simple carriers of building blocks to interpreting some of the most important information in the human body. In its many forms, RNA is responsible for forming ribosomes, the structures used to assemble protein strings, carrying amino acids in and out of their ‘storage’ in the cytoplasm, and carrying a copy of the genetic information housed in the DNA to ribosomes for protein creation. As we shall see, each type of RNA has special structural qualities that make it suited for its own specific function. But first we must learn what RNA is in general and why it is considered the bridge between DNA and proteins. The steps RNA takes to achieve its ultimate goal of creating protein molecules falls under one of two major tasks: transcription and translation. Transcription describes the process by which an RNA strand is synthesized fr
