Genetics Chapter 13 360-375

Early life used RNA as both the carrier of genetic information and as biological
catalysts.
RNA is a polymer, consisting of nucleotides joined together by phosphodiester
bonds. Each RNA nucleotide consists of a ribose sugar, a phosphate, and a base.
RNA contains the base uracil and is usually single stranded, which allows it to form
secondary structures.
Cells possess a number of different classes of RNA. Ribosomal RNA is a
component of the ribosome, messenger RNA carries coding instructions for proteins,
and transfer RNA helps incorporate the amino acids into a polypeptide chain.
The template for RNA synthesis is single-stranded DNA. In transcription, RNA
synthesis is complementary and antiparallel to the DNA template strand. A
transcription unit consists of a promoter, an RNA-coding region, and a terminator.
The substrates for RNA synthesis are ribonucleoside triphosphates.
RNA polymerase in bacterial cells consists of a core enzyme, which catalyzes the
addition of nucleotides to an RNA molecule, and other subunits. The sigma factor
controls the binding of the core enzyme to the promoter.
Eukaryotic cells contain several different RNA polymerases.
The process of transcription consists of three stages: initiation, elongation, and
termination.
Transcription begins at the start site, which is determined by consensus
sequences. A short stretch of DNA is unwound near the start site, RNA is
synthesized from a single strand of DNA as a template, and the DNA is rewound at
the lagging end of the transcription bubble. RNA polymerases are capable of
proofreading.
RNA synthesis ceases after a terminator sequence has been transcribed. Bacterial
cells have two types of terminators: rho-independent terminators and rhodependent terminators.
The initiation of transcription in eukaryotes requires the modification of chromatin
structure. Different types of RNA polymerases in eukaryotes recognize different
types of promoters.
For genes transcribed by RNA polymerase II, general transcription factors bind to
the core promoter and are part of the basal transcription apparatus. Transcriptional
activator proteins bind to sequences in regulatory promoters and enhancers and
interact with the basal transcription apparatus at the core promoter.
The three RNA polymerases found in all eukaryotic cells use different mechanisms
of termination.
Transcription in archaea has many similarities to transcription in eukaryotes.

TERMS
ribozyme (p. 358) ribosomal RNA (rRNA) (p. 359) messenger RNA (mRNA) (p. 359)
pre-messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) (p. 359) transfer RNA (tRNA) (p. 360) small nuclear
RNA (snRNA) (p. 360) small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) (p. 360) small
nucleolar RNA (snoRNA) (p. 360)
microRNA (miRNA) (p. 360) small interfering RNA (siRNA) (p. 360) Piwi-interacting
RNA (piRNA) (p. 360) CRISPR RNA (crRNA) (p. 360) template strand (p. 362)
nontemplate strand (p. 362) transcription unit (p. 362) promoter (p. 362)
RNA-coding region (p. 362) terminator (p. 363) ribonucleoside triphosphate (rNTP)
(p. 363) RNA polymerase (p. 363) core enzyme (p. 364) sigma (s) factor (p. 364)
holoenzyme (p. 364) RNA polymerase I (p. 364) RNA polymerase II (p. 364)
RNA polymerase III (p. 364) RNA polymerase IV (p. 364) RNA polymerase V (p. 364)
consensus sequence (p. 365) 10 consensus sequence (Pribnow box) (p. 365) 35
consensus sequence (p. 366) upstream element (p. 366)