PROTEIN

SYNTHESIS

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Protein Synthesis
 The production
(synthesis) of polypeptide
chains (proteins)
 Two phases:
Transcription &
Translation

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Central dogma of molecular biology

DNA  RNA  Protein

DNA

Transcription
mRNA
Ribosome
Translation
Protein

Prokaryotic Cell 4
DNA  RNA  Protein
Nuclear
DNA membrane

Transcription
Pre-mRNA

Eukaryot RNA Processing

mRNA
ic Cell
Ribosome

Translation

Protein

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 Nucleic
Acids
Nucleotides is the basic
building blocks of nucleic
acids.

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DNA!
Frederick Griffith
in 1928 showed
that DNA was the
cell’s genetic
material
Watson & Crick in
the 1950’s built
the 1st model of
DNA 7
Structure of DNA
 DNA is made of subunits
called nucleotides
 DNA nucleotides are
composed of a phosphate,
deoxyribose sugar, and a
nitrogen-containing base
 The 4 bases in DNA are:
adenine (A), thymine (T),
guanine (G), and cytosine (C)
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DNA Nucleotide
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 Anti-
Parallel
Strands
of DNA

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RNA

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RNA Differs from DNA
1. RNA has a sugar ribose
DNA has a sugar deoxyribose
2. RNA contains the base uracil
(U)
DNA has thymine (T)
3. RNA molecule is single-
stranded
DNA is double-stranded

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Structure of RNA

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 .
Three Types of RNA
• Messenger RNA (mRNA)
carries genetic information
to the ribosomes
• Ribosomal RNA (rRNA),
along with protein, makes
up the ribosomes
• Transfer RNA (tRNA)
transfers amino acids to the
ribosomes where proteins
are synthesized
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Making a
Protein

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Genes & Proteins
 Proteins are made of amino
acids linked together by
peptide bonds
 20 different amino acids
exist
 Amino acids chains are
called polypeptides
 Segment of DNA that codes
for the amino acid sequence
in a protein are called
genes 17
Two Parts of Protein Synthesis

 Transcription makes an RNA

molecule complementary to
a portion of DNA
 Translation occurs when the
sequence of bases of mRNA
DIRECTS the sequence of
amino acids in a
polypeptide
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Genetic Code
 DNA contains a triplet code
 Every three bases on DNA stands
for ONE amino acid
 Each three-letter unit on mRNA is
called a codon
 Most amino acids have more than
one codon!
 There are 20 amino acids with a
possible 64 different triplets
 The code is nearly universal among
living organisms

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20
Overview of
Transcription
 During transcription in the
nucleus, a segment of DNA
unwinds and unzips, and
the DNA serves as a
template for mRNA
formation
 RNA polymerase joins the
RNA nucleotides so that
the codons in mRNA are
complementary to the 21
 Steps in Transcription
 The transfer of information in the
nucleus from a DNA molecule to an
RNA molecule
 Only 1 DNA strand serves as the
template
 Starts at promoter DNA (TATA box)
 Ends at terminator DNA (stop)
 When complete, pre-RNA molecule is
released

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23
 What is the
enzyme
responsible for
the production of
the mRNA
molecule?

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RNA Polymerase
 Enzyme found in the
nucleus
 Separates the two DNA
strands by breaking the
hydrogen bonds between
the bases
 Then moves along one of
the DNA strands and links
RNA nucleotides together
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Question:
What would be the
complementary RNA
strand for the following
DNA sequence?

DNA 5’-GCGTATG-3’

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Answer:
•DNA 5’-GCGTATG-3’
•RNA 3’-CGCAUAC-5’

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 RNA Processing
pre-RNA molecule
exon intron exon intron exon

intron intron

exon exon exon

splicesome splicesome

exon exon exon

Mature RNA molecule 28

Messenger RNA (mRNA)
• Carries the information for a
specific protein
• Made up of 500 to 1000
nucleotides long
• Sequence of 3 bases called
codon
• AUG – methionine or start codon
• UAA, UAG, or UGA – stop codons

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Messenger RNA (mRNA)
start
codon
A U G G G C U C C A U C G G C G C A U A A
mRNA

codon 1 codon 2 codon 3 codon 4 codon 5 codon 6 codon 7

protein methionine glycine serine isoleucine glycine alanine stop

codon

Primary structure of a protein

aa1 aa2 aa3 aa4 aa5 aa6

peptide bonds
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 Transfer RNA (tRNA)
• Made up of 75 to 80
nucleotides long
• Picks up the appropriate
amino acid floating in the
cytoplasm
• Transports amino acids to the
mRNA
• Have anticodons that are
complementary to mRNA
codons
• Recognizes the appropriate
codons on the mRNA and
bonds to them with H-bonds 31
Transfer RNA (tRNA)
amino acid
attachment site
methionine amino acid

U A C
anticodon 32
 Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
• rRNA is 100 to 3000
nucleotides long
• Made inside the nucleus of
a cell
• Associates with proteins to
form ribosomes. Also
direct the catalytic steps in
protein synthesis- the
stitching together of amino
acids to make a protein
molecule
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Ribosomes
• Made of a large and small
subunit
• Composed of rRNA (40%)
and proteins (60%)
• Have two sites for tRNA
attachment --- P and A

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A ribosome is composed of two
subunits: large and small. During
translation, ribosomal subunits
assemble together like a sandwich
on the strand of mRNA, where they
proceed to attract tRNA molecules
tethered to amino acids (circles). A
long chain of amino acids emerges
as the ribosome decodes the mRNA
sequence into a polypeptide, or a
new protein.
Ribosome structure

Large
subunit
P A
Site Site

mRNA

Small subunit
A U G C U A C U U C G
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Translation
• Synthesis of proteins in the
cytoplasm

• Involves the following:

1. mRNA (codons)
2. tRNA (anticodons)
3. ribosomes
4. amino acids
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Translation
• Three steps:
1. initiation: start codon (AUG)
2. elongation: amino acids
linked
3. termination: stop codon
(UAG, UAA, or UGA).

Let’s Make a Protein !

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 mRNA Codons Join the
Ribosome

Large
subunit
P A
Site Site

mRNA

A U G C U A C U U C G
Small subunit
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 Initiation
aa2
aa1

2-tRNA
1-tRNA

anticodon
G A U
U A C
hydrogen A U G C U A C U U C G A
bonds codon mRNA
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 Elongation
peptide bond
aa3
aa1 aa2

3-tRNA

1-tRNA 2-tRNA G A A
anticodon
U A C G A U
hydrogen A U G C U A C U U C G A
bonds codon mRNA
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 aa1 peptide bond
aa3
aa2

1-tRNA

3-tRNA
U A C
(leaves)
2-tRNA G A A

G A U
A U G C U A C U U C G A
mRNA

Ribosomes move over one codon 43

 peptide bonds
aa1 aa4

aa2 aa3

4-tRNA

2-tRNA 3-tRNA G C U

G A U G A A
A U G C U A C U U C G A A C U
mRNA

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 peptide bonds
aa1 aa4
aa2

aa3

2-tRNA
4-tRNA
G A U
(leaves)
3-tRNA G C U

G A A
A U G C U A C U U C G A A C U
mRNA

Ribosomes move over one codon 45

 peptide bonds aa5
aa1
aa2
aa4
aa3

5-tRNA

U G A
3-tRNA 4-tRNA

G A A G C U
G C U A C U U C G A A C U
mRNA

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 aa1 peptide bonds aa5
aa2
aa3
aa4

5-tRNA

3-tRNA U G A
G A A 4-tRNA

G C U
G C U A C U U C G A A C U
mRNA

Ribosomes move over one codon 47

 aa5
aa4 aa199
Termination
aa200
aa3 primary
structure
aa2 of a protein

aa1
terminator
200-tRNA
or stop
codon

A C U C A U G U U U A G
mRNA

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 End Product –The Protein!
• The end products of protein
synthesis is a primary structure of a
protein
• A sequence of amino acid bonded
together by peptide bonds

aa5
aa3 aa4
aa2 aa199

aa1 aa200
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Common mistakes and
misconceptions
• Amino acids are not made during protein
synthesis. Some students think that the purpose of
protein synthesis is to create amino acids. However,
amino acids are not being made during translation, they
are being used as building blocks to make proteins.

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