GENETICS: MESSENGER RNA

● m-RNA or messenger RNA is a single stranded RNA molecule.

● It is complimentary to the DNA and carries genetic information present

in the DNA and it is translated to form proteins.
● In eukaryotes, m-RNA is synthesized in the nucleus and after processing,
it gets transported to the cytoplasm where translation or protein
synthesis takes place by the ribosomes.
● In prokaryotes, m-RNA is synthesized solely inside the cytoplasm as they
lack a true nucleus
● Types of RNA:
i. Based on m-RNA synthesis, the DNA transcribes into precursor m-RNA
and later transforms into a mature m-RNA:
⮚  Precursor m-RNA: Pre m-RNA refers to the primary transcript
or immature mRNA, which belongs to the group of heterogeneous
nuclear mRNA. Precursor m-RNA comprises both
coding exon sequence
s and non-
coding intron sequen
ces. During its
processing, the
unwanted sequences
or introns splices out

⮚ Mature m-RNA:
Further modifications
in the pre- mRNA
convert it into a
mature mRNA transcript. Therefore, mature mRNA is derived after
the maturation of pre m-RNA. Unlike pre- mRNA, it lacks introns. For
the translation of amino acids into proteins, 5’ capping and later tailing
at the 3’ prime occurs in the mature mRNA.
The mature m-RNA consists of the following:
 ▪ Coding region – It is made up of codons, i.e. triplet of
nucleotides. Each codon codes for specific amino acids and
codons in mRNA get translated by ribosomes to amino acids in
a polypeptide chain. The coding region begins with the start
codon, i.e. ‘AUG’ and ends with any of the stop codons, i.e. UAG,
UAA or UGA.
▪ Untranslated regions (UTRs) – They are present at 5’ and 3’
regions before and after the coding region, respectively.
Untranslated regions are present before the start codon and
after the stop codon. They have a role to play in gene
expression. They are involved in the stability of RNA, the
efficiency of translation and m-RNA localization.
▪ 5’ Cap – A cap of methyl guanosine triphosphate is present at
the 5’-end.
▪ Poly(A) Tail – Poly-adenylate tail is present at the 3’-end.

ii.

Based on protein expression the m-RNA is categorized into the following

types:
� Monocistronic m-RNA: It is a kind of mRNA common in eukaryotes,
which carries the exon sequences coding for a single protein.
� Polycistronic mRNA: It is a kind of mRNA common in bacteria and
bacteriophages, which carries the exon sequences that code for
multiple proteins.