What is the significance of the 5' cap and poly-A tail in eukaryotic mRNA?
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the significance of the 5' cap and poly-A tail in eukaryotic mRNA?
They are involved in DNA replication
They protect mRNA from degradation and assist in translation
They are sites for transcription initiation
They help in splicing introns
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the significance of the 5' cap and poly-A tail in eukaryotic mRNA?
Step 1: Understand that mRNA is a type of molecule that carries genetic information from DNA to make proteins.
Step 2: Learn that eukaryotic cells (like human cells) modify mRNA after it is made.
Step 3: The 5' cap is a special structure added to the beginning of the mRNA. It helps protect the mRNA from being broken down.
Step 4: The poly-A tail is a long string of adenine nucleotides added to the end of the mRNA. It also helps protect the mRNA and makes it more stable.
Step 5: Both the 5' cap and poly-A tail help the ribosomes (the machines that make proteins) recognize the mRNA so they can start translating it into a protein.
