Key Concepts of Section 5.2

Transcription of Protein-Coding Genes and Formation of Functional mRNA

• Transcription of DNA is carried out by RNA polymerase, which adds one ribonucleotide at a time to the 3′ end of a growing RNA chain (see Figure 5-11). The sequence of the template DNA strand determines the order in which ribonucleotides are polymerized to form an RNA chain.

• During transcription initiation, RNA polymerase binds to a specific site in DNA (the promoter), locally melts the double-stranded DNA to reveal the unpaired template strand, and polymerizes the first two nucleotides complementary to the template strand. The melted region of 12–14 base pairs is known as the transcription bubble.

• During strand elongation, RNA polymerase moves down the DNA, melting the DNA ahead of the polymerase so that the template strand can enter the active site of the enzyme, and allowing the complementary strands of the region just transcribed to reanneal behind it. The transcription bubble moves with the polymerase as the enzyme adds ribonucleotides complementary to the template strand to the 3′ end of the growing RNA chain.

• When RNA polymerase reaches a termination sequence in the DNA, the enzyme stops transcription, leading to release of the completed RNA and dissociation of the enzyme from the template DNA.

• In prokaryotic DNA, several protein-coding genes are commonly clustered into a functional region, called an operon, that is transcribed from a single promoter into one mRNA encoding multiple proteins with related functions (see Figure 5-13a). Translation of a bacterial mRNA can begin before synthesis of the mRNA is complete.

• In eukaryotic DNA, each protein-coding gene is transcribed from its own promoter. The initial primary transcript very often contains noncoding regions (introns) interspersed with coding regions (exons).

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• Eukaryotic primary transcripts must undergo RNA processing to yield functional RNAs. During processing, the ends of nearly all primary transcripts from protein-coding genes are modified by addition of a 5′ cap and 3′ poly(A) tail. Transcripts from genes containing introns undergo splicing, the removal of the introns and joining of the exons (see Figure 5-15).

• The individual domains of multidomain proteins found in higher eukaryotes are often encoded by individual exons or a small number of exons. Distinct isoforms of such proteins are often expressed in specific cell types as the result of alternative splicing of exons.