CH 461 Lecture Notes - Lecture 40: Messenger Rna, Polyadenylation, Cistron
Document Summary
Most rnas function in an information carrying and/or processing mode in the cell. The overall information processes of the cell are given in the central dogma of molecular. Rna is involved as a carrier of information, as translator or adaptor of rna information into protein information, and as catalyst for the synthesis of the peptide bond. Prokaryotic and eukaryotic messenger rnas (mrnas) have different structures. Prokaryotic mrnas are often polycistronic (that is, they carry the information for more than one protein) while eukaryotic mrnas are monocistronic and almost always code for a single protein. Eukaryotic mrnas also have structural features that prokaryotic ones do not. While prokaryotic mrnas generally have only the common four bases a, C, g, and u, eukaryotic mrnas contain a modification known as a cap at the 5 end. linkage. In addition, some of the nucleosides in the cap are methylated: the most 5 .
