Translation Flashcards
What is translation?
Process of synthesis of a protein from an m-RNA template
Where does translation take place?
Ribosomes in the cytoplasm
What are ribosomes made of?
rRNAs and >50 types of ribosomal proteins
What is the eukaryotic ribosome size?
80S
What is the prokaryotic ribosome size?
70S
What type of RNA is most abundant in the cell?
ribosomal-RNA (r-RNA) ~80%
Order these ribosomal RNAs from least abundant to most abundant.
Least abundant = messenger RNA (m-RNA) = 3.5%
Transfer RNA (t-RNA) = 15%
Most abundant = ribosomal RNA (r-RNA) = 80%
Some differences between m-RNA, r-RNA and t-RNA
What is the site of r-RNA processing and assembly into ribosomes in the cell?
Nucleolus
What is the main site of ribosome biogenesis in the cell?
Nucleolus
What is the structural role of rRNA?
Providing scaffold upon which ribosomal proteins can assemble
What is the catalytic role of rRNA?
Covalent peptide bond formation catalyzed by rRNA
What are responsible for the ribosomes overall structure, its ability to position tRNAs on the mRNA, and its catalytic activity in forming covalent peptide bonds?
RNAs
What is the genetic code?
The rules by which the nucleotide sequence of a gene, through the medium of mRNA, is translated into the amino acid sequence of a protein
What are the features of the genetic code?
- Degenerate/redundant
- Unambiguous
- Universal
What are bases organized into groups of three called?
Codons
What does each codon stand for?
an amino acid
What is the structure of tRNA?
Cloverleaf with an anticodon at one end and an amino acid at the other
How many different tRNAs are there roughly?
Cells contain around ~40 different tRNAs that serve as acceptors for the 20 amino acids
What is the name of the group of enzymes which catalyze the attachment of amino acids to specific tRNAs?
Aminoacyl tRNA synthetases
What are the two steps which involve attachment of amino acids to tRNAs?
1) Amino acid is activated by reaction with ATP to form intermediate = aminoacyl AMP synthetase
2) Activated amino acid is then joined to the 3’ terminus of the acceptor tRNA and AMP is released
What occurs between the mRNA codon and the ___ of the tRNA molecule?
Complementary base pairing occurs between the mRNA codon and the anticodon of the tRNA molecule
What is codon-anticodon base pairing wobble?
Some tRNAs are constructed so that they require accurate base-pairing only at the first two positions of the codon and can tolerate a mismatch (a ‘wobble’) at the third position
What does wobble allow?
Allows some tRNAs to bind to more than one codon
- Basis of the redundancy of the genetic code