Protein Synthesis

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11 September 2023
12:17
DNA - Deoxyribonucleic acid

 DNA is made up of two polynucleotides that are wrapped into a

helix. The polynucleotides are made up of the four bases, A
(Adenine), C (Cytosine), G (Guanine), T (Thymine)
 There are different types of RNA but they all consist of:
o A Ribose sugar
o A Phosphate group
o And a base (A, U, G, C)
 The U base is called Uracil, which replaces Thymine in RNA
 RNA, unlike DNA, is a single stranded spiral, it only has one
nucleotide.
 There are two types of RNA (for now):
o mRNA (messenger RNA)
 This type of RNA
o tRNA (transfer RNA)
 This type of RNA

DNA RNA
Name of Sugar Deoxyribose Ribose
Phosphate group present Y Y
Double or single strand Double Single
A, G, C bases present Y Y
 Uracil or Thymine present T U

Sugar Phosphate Backbone

Polynucleotide
 Strands

RNA - Ribonucleic acid

Protein Synthesis
1. Transcription - A section of DNA unravels and it's base
pairings are copied into the nucleus of mRNA
2. Translation - The mRNA then attaches to the ribosome and
the information is used to join amino acids into a
polypeptide or protein

 Polypeptides are amino acids that are formed into a chain

 Polynucleotides are nucleotides that are formed into a
chain
 Despite the similarities, Polypeptides and
Polynucleotides are not the same thing