Living cells synthesize long chains of amino acids known as proteins. Which substance provides the information necessary to correctly sequence the amino acids during protein synthesis?
Biology · High School · Mon Jan 18 2021
Answered on
The substance that provides the information necessary to correctly sequence the amino acids during protein synthesis is messenger RNA (mRNA).
mRNA carries the genetic information in the form of a sequence of nucleotides from the DNA in the cell's nucleus to the ribosomes in the cytoplasm. This information is transcribed from the DNA template during the process of transcription. The sequence of nucleotides in the mRNA molecule corresponds to the genetic code of the DNA.
The sequence of nucleotides in mRNA is read in groups of three, known as codons. Each codon represents a specific amino acid or a signal for the start or termination of protein synthesis. During translation, ribosomes use the information encoded in the mRNA to assemble the correct sequence of amino acids, following the instructions provided by the codons. This process results in the synthesis of a specific protein according to the sequence of nucleotides in the mRNA molecule.