This page has been archived and is no longer updated. The genetic information stored in DNA is a living archive of instructions that cells use to accomplish the functions of life. Inside each cell, catalysts seek out the appropriate information from this archive and use it to build new proteins — proteins that make up the structures of the cell, run the biochemical reactions in the cell, and are sometimes manufactured for export. Although all of the cells that make up a multicellular organism contain identical genetic information, functionally different cells within the organism use different sets of catalysts to express only specific portions of these instructions to accomplish the functions of life.
When a cell divides, it creates one copy of its genetic information — in the form of DNA molecules — for each of the two resulting daughter cells. The accuracy of these copies determines the health and inherited features of the nascent cells, so it is essential that the process of DNA replication be as accurate as possible Figure 1.
Figure 1: DNA replication of the leading and lagging strand The helicase unzips the double-stranded DNA for replication, making a forked structure. This enzyme can work only in the 5' to 3' direction, so it replicates the leading strand continuously. Lagging-strand replication is discontinuous, with short Okazaki fragments being formed and later linked together.
Molecular biology: Prime-time progress. Nature , All rights reserved. Figure Detail. One factor that helps ensure precise replication is the double-helical structure of DNA itself. In particular, the two strands of the DNA double helix are made up of combinations of molecules called nucleotides. DNA is constructed from just four different nucleotides — adenine A , thymine T , cytosine C , and guanine G — each of which is named for the nitrogenous base it contains.
Moreover, the nucleotides that form one strand of the DNA double helix always bond with the nucleotides in the other strand according to a pattern known as complementary base-pairing — specifically, A always pairs with T, and C always pairs with G Figure 2. Thus, during cell division, the paired strands unravel and each strand serves as the template for synthesis of a new complementary strand.
Each nucleotide has an affinity for its partner: A pairs with T, and C pairs with G. In most multicellular organisms, every cell carries the same DNA, but this genetic information is used in varying ways by different types of cells. In other words, what a cell "does" within an organism dictates which of its genes are expressed.
Nerve cells, for example, synthesize an abundance of chemicals called neurotransmitters, which they use to send messages to other cells, whereas muscle cells load themselves with the protein-based filaments necessary for muscle contractions.
Transcription is the first step in decoding a cell's genetic information. RNA molecules differ from DNA molecules in several important ways: They are single stranded rather than double stranded; their sugar component is a ribose rather than a deoxyribose; and they include uracil U nucleotides rather than thymine T nucleotides Figure 4.
Also, because they are single strands, RNA molecules don't form helices; rather, they fold into complex structures that are stabilized by internal complementary base-pairing. Messenger RNA mRNA molecules carry the coding sequences for protein synthesis and are called transcripts; ribosomal RNA rRNA molecules form the core of a cell's ribosomes the structures in which protein synthesis takes place ; and transfer RNA tRNA molecules carry amino acids to the ribosomes during protein synthesis.
Other types of RNA also exist but are not as well understood, although they appear to play regulatory roles in gene expression and also be involved in protection against invading viruses. Some mRNA molecules are abundant, numbering in the hundreds or thousands, as is often true of transcripts encoding structural proteins.
Other mRNAs are quite rare, with perhaps only a single copy present, as is sometimes the case for transcripts that encode signaling proteins. In eukaryotes, transcripts for structural proteins may remain intact for over ten hours, whereas transcripts for signaling proteins may be degraded in less than ten minutes.
Cells can be characterized by the spectrum of mRNA molecules present within them; this spectrum is called the transcriptome. Whereas each cell in a multicellular organism carries the same DNA or genome, its transcriptome varies widely according to cell type and function. The journey from gene to protein is complex and tightly controlled within each cell.
It consists of two major steps: transcription and translation. Together, transcription and translation are known as gene expression. During the process of transcription, the information stored in a gene's DNA is passed to a similar molecule called RNA ribonucleic acid in the cell nucleus. Both RNA and DNA are made up of a chain of building blocks called nucleotides, but they have slightly different chemical properties. Translation, the second step in getting from a gene to a protein, takes place in the cytoplasm.
In translation, this RNA is then translated into proteins. Of course, the processes of transcription and translation are a little more complicated than that. Transcription is the first half of the Central Dogma. Transcription occurs in the nucleus of the cell—DNA cannot leave the nucleus. There are three steps in transcription: initiation, elongation, and termination these are also the same steps as in translation; however, different things happen in the steps of the different processes.
The order of each amino acid is crucial to the functionality of the future protein; errors in adding an amino acid can result in disease. Finally, during termination, the completed polypeptide chain is released from the ribosome and is folded into its final protein state. Proteins are required for the structure, function, and regulation of the body's tissues and organs; their functionality is seemingly endless. Human cells make nearly , different types of proteins , each with its own unique messenger RNA sequence.
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