BAHIR DAR UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY

COURS TITLE: Biochemistry

COURSE CODE: Ichem.3052
GROUP ASSIGNMENT

S.No Name Id no s.no Name Id no

1 Bizuayehu Gero 1104127 8
2 Getaw Tadesse 1104182 9
3 Mandefro Fentahun 1104184 10
4 Elias Muchie 1103 11
5 Getie Amsalu 110656 12
6 Abebe Tsegalem 1103661 13
7 Beletu Adisu 1103910 14

Subimittd to: D.r Tamene S.

Subimittion date :
 RNA Synthesis

Introduction
 Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a molecule similar to DNA.
 An RNA strand has a backbone made of alternating sugar (ribose) and phosphate groups.
 A codon is a specific sequence of nucleotides on an mRNA that corresponds to a specific amino
acid or to a stop signal during protein translation.
 A nucleotide, in turn, is made up of a nucleobase (or simply, base), a sugar, and a phosphate
group.
 The basic nucleobases of RNA nucleotides are:
 Adenine (A)
 Uracil (U)
 Guanine (G)
 Cytosine (C)

The process of synthesizing RNA from the genetic information encoded by DNA is called transcription.

The enzymes involved in transcription are called RNA polymerases.

DNA and RNA are long linear polymers, called nucleic acids that carry information in a form that can be
passed from one generation to the next.

Genes specify the kinds of proteins that are made by cells, but DNA is not the direct template for
protein synthesis. Rather, the templates for protein synthesis are RNA (ribonucleic acid) molecules.

In particular, there are classes of RNA molecules these are:

 Messenger RNA (mRNA)

 Transfer RNA (tRNA) and
 Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)

All forms of cellular RNA are synthesized by RNA polymerases that take instructions from DNA
templates.

Fig:

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 RNA synthesis
 RNA synthesis, or transcription, is the process of transcribing DNA nucleotide sequence
information into RNA sequence information.
 RNA synthesis is catalyzed by a large enzyme called RNA polymerase.
 The basic biochemistry of RNA synthesis is common to prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
 A codon is a sequence of three DNA or RNA nucleotides that corresponds with a specific amino
acid or stop signal during protein synthesis

Examples of codons:

 GCC (Guanine–Cytosine-Cytosine) → alanine

 GUU (Guanine-Uracil-Uracil) → valine
 CUA (Cytosine-Uracil-Adenine) → leucine
 UCA (Uracil-Cytosine-Adenine) → serine

RNA synthesis, like nearly all biological polymerization reactions, takes place in three stages:

o Initiation,
o Elongation, and
o Termination

RNA polymerase performs multiple functions in this process:

1. It searches DNA for initiation sites, also called promoter sites or simply promoters.

2. It unwinds a short stretch of double-helical DNA to produce a single-stranded DNA template from
which it takes instructions.

3. It selects the correct ribonucleoside triphosphate and catalyzes the formation of a phosphodiester
bond. RNA polymerase is completely processive a transcript is synthesized from start to end by a single
RNA polymerase molecule.

4. It detects termination signals that specify where a transcript ends.

5. It interacts with activator and repressor proteins that modulate the rate of transcription initiation
over a wide dynamic range. These proteins, which play a more prominent role in eukaryotes than in
prokaryotes, are called transcrip-tion factors or trans-acting elements .

The fundamental reaction of RNA synthesis is the formation of a phosphodiester bond.

The chemistry of RNA synthesis is identical for all forms of RNA, including

o Messenger RNA

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 o Transfer RNA, and
o Ribosomal RNA

Transcription

 Transcription is the first step in gene expression. It involves copying a gene's DNA sequence to

make an RNA molecule.

 Transcription is performed by enzymes called RNA polymerases, which link nucleotides to form

an RNA strand (using a DNA strand as a template).

 Transcription has three stages: initiation, elongation, and termination.

 Transcription starts at promoterson the DNA template.

 Transcription is controlled separately for each gene in your genome

Promoters are sequences of DNA that direct the RNA polymerase to the proper initiation site for
transcription.

One powerful technique for characterizing these and other protein-binding sites on DNA is called
footprinting .

RNA polymerase is added to the labeled DNA, and the complex is digested with DNAse just long enough
to make an average of one cut in each chain .

In eukaryotes, transcription and translation take place in different cellular compartments:

o Transcription takes place in the membranebounded nucleus

o Translation takes place outside the nucleus in the cytoplasm.

Most eukaryotic mRNAs contain a polyadenylate, poly(A), tail at that end, added after transcription has
ended.

Eukaryotic primary transcripts are cleaved by a specific endonuclease that recognizes the sequence
AAUAAA

In prokaryotes, the two processes are closely coupled .

The translation of bacterial mRNA begins while the transcript is still being synthesized.

 In prokaryotes, RNA is synthesized by a single kind of polymerase.

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 Stages of transcription

Transcription of a gene takes place in three stages: initiation, elongation, and termination

1. Initiation. RNA polymerase binds to a sequence of DNA called the promoter, found near the

beginning of a gene .

2. Elongation. One strand of DNA, the template strand, acts as a template for RNA polymerase .

The RNA transcript carries the same information as the non-template (coding) strand of DNA, but it

contains the base uracil (U) instead of thymine (T). 

3. Termination Sequences called terminators signal that the RNA transcript is complete.

Reference: Jeremy M.Berg, Johon L. Tymoczko Lubert Sryer : 5 th edition ,chaptre 28 and

Other internet sources

THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION

BY BIZUAYEHU GERO

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