MADE BY : MS.

NOREE ZAHRA

PROTEIN SYNTHESIS NOTES

DNA has the instructions for making all proteins in an organism. DNA is used to build
RNA. RNA leaves the nucleus and builds proteins in the ribosome. Proteins create an
organism's physical traits and functions.

PROTEIN SYNTHESIS IS A TWO STAGE PROCESS:

1. Transcription (making RNA from DNA in the nucleus)

2. Translation (using RNA to build proteins in the ribosome)

TRANSCRIPTION
During Transcription (in the nucleus) the instruction for building one protein is copied from
a DNA template strand gene onto messenger RNA (mRNA).
TRANSCRIPTION PROCESS:

1. DNA helicase separates DNA strands along a gene code

2. Free RNA nucleotides floating in the nucleus bond ionically to exposed bases on the
DNA template strand by RNA polymerase in the direction of 5 to 3 .
3. The RNA nucleotides that bond to the DNA template are covalently linked together to
form a messenger RNA molecule
4. The messenger RNA leaves the nucleus and the two DNA strands come back together
When mRNA is made from DNA all of the 3 letter DNA words in a gene are converted to 3
letter RNA words (codons) in the mRNA molecule.
A typical mRNA molecule will contain more than 100 codons, with each codon specifying
the placement of one particular amino acid in a protein chain.

TRANSLATION

Messenger RNA (mRNA) brings instructions for making ONE protein from the nucleus to
the ribosome.
Transfer RNA (tRNA) molecules bring amino acids from the cytosol into the ribosome to
build the protein.
Many different types of tRNA molecule are transcribed in nucleus from tRNA genes.
Different types of tRNA bring different types of amino acid to the ribosome.
Different types of tRNA also have different 3 base anticodon sequences that bond to mRNA
codons.
tRNA anticodon bonds ionically to specific 3 base codon in the mRNA molecule.
tRNAs will only bond to mRNA where the mRNA codon complements the tRNA anticodon.
tRNAs line up amino acids in the ribosome, according to the order of mRNA codons.
Molecules in the ribosome covalently bond by the peptide linkage to the adjacent amino acids
together to form the polypeptide chain.
When the mRNA stop codon appears in the ribosome the complete polypeptide chain /
protein chain is released.

TYPES OF RNA
There are three types of RNA involved in protein synthesis.
1.mRNA:
mRNA accounts for just 5% of the total RNA in the cell. mRNA is the most heterogeneous of
the 3 types of RNA in terms of both base sequence and size. It carries the genetic code copied
from the DNA during transcription ,with RNA polymerase, in the form of triplets of
nucleotides called codons. Each codon specifies a particular amino acid, but one amino acid
can be coded by many different codons. Although there are 64 possible codons or triplet
bases in the genetic code, only 61 of them represent amino acids; the remaining 3 are stop
codons.
However, in the RNA molecule, the base T is replaced with U & sugar deoxyribose is
replaced with ribose.
2.rRNA:

rRNAs are found in the ribosomes and account for 80% of the total RNA present in the cell.
rRNAs combine with proteins in the cytoplasm to form ribosomes, which act as the site of
protein synthesis and has the enzymes needed for the process. These complex structures
travel along the mRNA molecule during translation and facilitate the assembly of amino
acids to form a polypeptide chain. They bind to tRNAs and other molecules that are crucial
for protein synthesis.
3. tRNA:
tRNAs are an essential component of translation, where their main function is the transfer of
amino acids to the ribosome , ensuring that the amino acid added to the chain is the one
specified by the mRNA ,during protein synthesis. Therefore, they are called transfer RNAs.

Each of the 20 amino acids has a specific tRNA that binds with it and transfers it to the
growing polypeptide chain.

Transfer RNAs consist of a single strand of RNA, but this strand has complementary
segments that stick together to make double-stranded regions. tRNAs have a clover leaf
structure which is stabilized by strong hydrogen bonds between the nucleotides.
The amino acids then can be joined together and processed to make polypeptides and proteins.
DNA replication
DNA Replication is Semi-Conservative

DNA replication of one helix of DNA results in two identical helices. If the original DNA helix
is called the "parental" DNA, the two resulting helices can be called "daughter" helices.
Each of these two daughter helices is a nearly exact copy of the parental helix (it is not
100% the same due to mutations). DNA creates "daughters" by using the parental strands
of DNA as a template.

Each newly synthesized strand of DNA (daughter strand) is made by the addition of a
nucleotide that is complementary to the parent strand of DNA. In this way, DNA replication
is semi-conservative, meaning that one parent strand is always passed on to the daughter
helix of DNA.
 The Semi-Conservative Nature of DNA Replication

The first step in DNA replication is the separation of the two DNA strands that make up the
helix that is to be copied. DNA Helicase untwists the helix at locations called replication
origins. The replication origin forms a Y shape, and is called a replication fork.

Replication Fork

When the two parent strands of DNA are separated to begin replication, one strand is
oriented in the 5' to 3' direction while the other strand is oriented in the 3' to 5' direction.

In DNA replication, the enzyme that carries out the replication, DNA polymerase, only
functions in the 5' to 3' direction. This characteristic of DNA polymerase means that the
daughter strands synthesize through different methods, one adding nucleotides one by one
in the direction of the replication fork, the other able to add nucleotides only in chunks. The
first strand, which replicates nucleotides one by one is called the leading strand; the other
strand, which replicates in chunks, is called the lagging strand.

Replication Fork
 Leading and Lagging Strands
On the lagging strand there is synthesis of discontinuous segments of polynucleotides
(called Okazaki fragments). The are stitched together by DNA ligase.

Patching Up Okazaki Fragments