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RNA genes

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A protein-coding gene in DNA being transcribed and translated to a functional protein or a non-protein-coding gene being transcribed to a functional RNA
Protein coding genes are transcribed to an mRNA intermediate, then translated to a functional protein. RNA-coding genes are transcribed to a functional non-coding RNA. (PDB: 3BSE​, 1OBB​, 3TRA​)

A typical protein-coding genes is first copied into RNA as an intermediate in the manufacture of the final protein product.[1][a]: 6.1  In other cases, the RNA molecules are the actual functional products, as in the synthesis of ribosomal RNA and transfer RNA. Some RNAs known as ribozymes are capable of enzymatic function, and microRNA has a regulatory role. The DNA sequences from which such RNAs are transcribed are known as RNA genes.

Some viruses store their entire genomes in the form of RNA, and contain no DNA at all. Because they use RNA to store genes, their cellular hosts may synthesize their proteins as soon as they are infected and without the delay in waiting for transcription. On the other hand, RNA retroviruses, such as HIV, require the reverse transcription of their genome from RNA into DNA before their proteins can be synthesized. RNA-mediated epigenetic inheritance has also been observed in plants and very rarely in animals.[2]


Notes

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References

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  1. ^ Alberts B, Johnson A, Lewis J, Raff M, Roberts K, Walter P (2002). Molecular Biology of the Cell (Fourth ed.). New York: Garland Science. ISBN 978-0-8153-3218-3.
  2. ^ Morris, KV; Mattick, JS (June 2014). "The rise of regulatory RNA". Nature reviews. Genetics. 15 (6): 423–37. PMID 24776770.

Bibliography

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