Important Terms

colinearity

exon

intron

group I intron

group II intron

nuclear pre-mRNA intron

transfer RNA intron

codon

5′ untranslated region (5′ UTR)

Shine–Dalgarno sequence

protein-coding region

3′ untranslated region (3′ UTR)

5′ cap

poly(A) tail

RNA splicing

5′ splice site

3′ splice site

branch point

spliceosome

lariat

trans-splicing

alternative processing pathway

alternative splicing

multiple 3′ cleavage sites

RNA editing

guide RNA

modified base

tRNA-modifying enzyme

cloverleaf structure

anticodon

large ribosomal subunit

small ribosomal subunit

RNA interference (RNAi)

RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC)