MB Chapter 17

Use the table to sort the following ten codons into one of the three bins, according to whether they code for a start codon, an in-sequence amino acid, or a stop codon.

During translation, nucleotide base triplets (codons) in mRNA are read in sequence in the 5' → 3' direction along the mRNA. Amino acids are specified by the string of codons. What amino acid sequence does the following mRNA nucleotide sequence specify? 5′−AUGGCAAGAAAA−3′ Express the sequence of amino acids using the three-letter abbreviations, separated by hyphens (e.g., Met-Ser-Thr-Lys-Gly).

What amino acid sequence does the following DNA nucleotide sequence specify? 3′−TACAGAACGGTA−5′ Express the sequence of amino acids using the three-letter abbreviations, separated by hyphens (e.g., Met-Ser-His-Lys-Gly).

What is the function of RNA polymerase?

In eukaryotic cells, the processes of protein synthesis occur in different cellular locations. Drag the labels to the appropriate targets to identify where in the cell each process associated with protein synthesis takes place.

RNA plays important roles in many cellular processes, particularly those associated with protein synthesis: transcription, RNA processing, and translation. Drag the labels to the appropriate bins to identify the step in protein synthesis where each type of RNA first plays a role. If an RNA does not play a role in protein synthesis, drag it to the "not used in protein synthesis" bin.

Life as we know it depends on the genetic code: a set of codons, each made up of three bases in a DNA sequence and corresponding mRNA sequence, that specifies which of the 20 amino acids will be added to the protein during translation. Imagine that a prokaryote-like organism has been discovered in the polar ice on Mars. Interestingly, these Martian organisms use the same DNA → RNA → protein system as life on Earth, except that there are only 2 bases (A and T) in the Martian DNA, and there are only 17 amino acids found in Martian proteins.

Suppose that a portion of double-stranded DNA in the middle of a large gene is being transcribed by an RNA polymerase. As the polymerase moves through the sequence of six bases shown in the diagram below, what is the corresponding sequence of bases in the RNA that is produced?

During transcription in eukaryotes, a type of RNA polymerase called RNA polymerase II moves along the template strand of the DNA in the 3'→5' direction. However, for any given gene, either strand of the double-stranded DNA may function as the template strand. For any given gene, what ultimately determines which DNA strand serves as the template strand?

After transcription begins, several steps must be completed before the fully processed mRNA is ready to be used as a template for protein synthesis on the ribosomes. Which three statements correctly describe the processing that takes place before a mature mRNA exits the nucleus?

Ribosomes provide the scaffolding on which tRNAs interact with mRNA during translation of an mRNA sequence to a chain of amino acids. A ribosome has three binding sites, each of which has a distinct function in the tRNA-mRNA interactions.

The diagram below shows an mRNA molecule that encodes a protein with 202 amino acids. The start and stop codons are highlighted, and a portion of the nucleotide sequence in the early part of the molecule is shown in detail. At position 35, a single base-pair substitution in the DNA has changed what would have been a uracil (U) in the mRNA to an adenine (A).Based on the genetic code chart above, which of the following would be the result of this single base-pair substitution?

For each protein, identify its targeting pathway: the sequence of cellular locations in which the protein is found from when translation is complete until it reaches its final (functional) destination. (Note that if an organelle is listed in a pathway, the location implied is inside the organelle, not in the membrane that surrounds the organelle.)