Essential Cell Biology 5th edition

From RNA to Protein
245
codons
GCA
GCC
GCG
GCU
AGA
AGG
CGA
CGC
CGG
CGU
GAC
GAU
AAC
AAU
UGC
UGU
GAA
GAG
CAA
CAG
GGA
GGC
GGG
GGU
CAC
CAU
AUA
AUC
AUU
UUA
UUG
CUA
CUC
CUG
CUU
AAA
AAG
AUG
UUC
UUU
CCA
CCC
CCG
CCU
AGC
AGU
UCA
UCC
UCG
UCU
ACA
ACC
ACG
ACU
UGG
UAC
UAU
GUA
GUC
GUG
GUU
UAA
UAG
UGA
amino
acids
Ala
A
Arg
R
Asp
D
Asn
N
Cys
C
Glu
E
Gln
Q
Gly
G
His
H
Ile
I
Leu
L
Lys
K
Met
M
Phe
F
Pro
P
Ser
S
Thr
T
Trp
W
Tyr
Y
Val
V
stop
Figure 7–27 The nucleotide sequence of an mRNA is translated into the amino acid sequence of a protein via
the genetic code. All of the three-nucleotide codons in mRNAs that specify a given amino acid are listed above
that amino acid, which is given in both its three-letter and one-letter abbreviations (see Panel 2–6, pp. 76–77, for the
full name of each amino acid and its structure). Like RNA molecules, codons are usually written with the 5ʹ-terminal
nucleotide to the left. Note that most amino acids are represented by more than one codon, and there are some
regularities in the set of codons that specify each amino acid. For example, codons for the same amino acid tend to
contain the same nucleotides at the first and second positions and vary at the third position. There are three codons
that do not specify any amino acid ECB5 but act e7.25/7.27 as termination sites (stop codons), signaling the end of the protein-coding
sequence in an mRNA. One codon—AUG—acts both as an initiation codon, signaling the start of a protein-coding
message, and as the codon that specifies the amino acid methionine.
the mRNA of mitochondria and of some fungi and protozoa. Mitochondria
have their own DNA replication, transcription, and protein-synthesis
machinery, which operates independently of the corresponding machinery
in the rest of the cell (discussed in Chapter 14), and they have been
able to accommodate minor changes to the otherwise universal genetic
code. Even in fungi and protozoa, the similarities in the code far outweigh
the differences.
In principle, an mRNA sequence can be translated in any one of three different
reading frames, depending on where the decoding process begins
(Figure 7–28). However, only one of the three possible reading frames
in an mRNA specifies the correct protein. We discuss later how a special
signal at the beginning of each mRNA molecule sets the correct reading
frame.
tRNA Molecules Match Amino Acids to Codons in mRNA
The codons in an mRNA molecule do not directly recognize the amino
acids they specify: the set of three nucleotides does not, for example, bind
directly to the amino acid. Rather, the translation of mRNA into protein
depends on adaptor molecules that bind to a codon with one part of the
adaptor and to an amino acid with another. These adaptors consist of
a set of small RNA molecules known as transfer RNAs (tRNAs), each
about 80 nucleotides in length.
We saw earlier that an RNA molecule generally folds into a three-dimensional
structure by forming internal base pairs between different regions
of the molecule. If the base-paired regions are sufficiently extensive, they
will fold back on themselves to form a double-helical structure, like that of
double-stranded DNA. Such is the case for the tRNA molecule. Four short
segments of the folded tRNA are double-helical, producing a distinctive
Figure 7–28 In principle, an mRNA molecule can be translated
in three possible reading frames. In the process of translating a
nucleotide sequence (blue) into an amino acid sequence (red ), the
sequence of nucleotides in an mRNA molecule is read from the 5ʹ
to the 3ʹ end in sequential sets of three nucleotides. In principle,
therefore, the same mRNA sequence can specify three completely
different amino acid sequences, depending on the nucleotide at
which translation begins—that is, on the reading frame used. In
reality, however, only one of these reading frames encodes the actual
message, as we discuss later.
1
2
3
5′
3′
C U C A G C G U U A C C A U
Leu Ser Val Thr
C U C A G C G U U A C C A U
Ser Ala Leu Pro
C U C A G C G U U A C C A U
Gln Arg Tyr His