Messenger RNA is translated by ribosomes
Biology

Messenger RNA is translated by ribosomes



KEY TERMS:
  • The ribosome is a large assembly of RNA and proteins that synthesizes proteins under direction from an mRNA template. Bacterial ribosomes sediment at 70S, eukaryotic ribosomes at 80S. A ribosome can be dissociated into two subunits.
  • A ribonucleoprotein is a complex of RNA with proteins.
  • The large subunit of the ribosome (50S in bacteria, 60S in eukaryotes) has the peptidyl transferase active site that synthesizes the peptide bond.
  • The small subunit of the ribosome (30S in bacteria, 40S in eukaryotes) binds the mRNA.
KEY CONCEPTS:
  • Ribosomes are characterized by their rate of sedimentation (70S for bacterial ribosomes and 80S for eukaryotic ribosomes).
  • A ribosome consists of a large subunit (50S or 60S for bacteria and eukaryotes) and a small subunit (30S or 40S).
  • The ribosome provides the environment in which aminoacyl-tRNAs add amino acids to the growing polypeptide chain in response to the corresponding triplet codons.
  • A ribosome moves along an mRNA from 5 to 3. 

Translation of an mRNA into a polypeptide chain is catalyzed by the ribosome. Ribosomes are traditionally described in terms of their (approximate) rate of sedimentation (measured in Svedbergs, in which a higher S value indicates a greater rate of sedimentation and a larger mass). Bacterial ribosomes generally sediment at ~70S. The ribosomes of the cytoplasm of higher eukaryotic cells are larger, usually sedimenting at ~80S.

The ribosome is a compact ribonucleoprotein particle consisting of two subunits. Each subunit has an RNA component, including one very large RNA molecule, and many proteins. The relationship between a ribosome and its subunits is depicted in Figure 5.8. The two subunits dissociate in vitro when the concentration of Mg2+ ions is reduced. In each case, the large subunit is about twice the mass of the small subunit. Bacterial (70S) ribosomes have subunits that sediment at 50S and 30S. The subunits of eukaryotic cytoplasmic (80S) ribosomes sediment at 60S and 40S. The two subunits work together as part of the complete ribosome, but each undertakes distinct reactions in protein synthesis.
All the ribosomes of a given cell compartment are identical. They undertake the synthesis of different proteins by associating with the different mRNAs that provide the actual coding sequences.
The ribosome provides the environment that controls the recognition between a codon of mRNA and the anticodon of tRNA. Reading the genetic code as a series of adjacent triplets, protein synthesis proceeds from the start of a coding region to the end. A protein is assembled by the sequential addition of amino acids in the direction from the N-terminus to the C-terminus as a ribosome moves along the mRNA (Dintzis, 1961).
A ribosome begins translation at the 5 end of a coding region; it translates each triplet codon into an amino acid as it proceeds towards the 3 end. At each codon, the appropriate aminoacyl-tRNA associates with the ribosome, donating its amino acid to the polypeptide chain. At any given moment, the ribosome can accommodate the two aminoacyl-tRNAs corresponding to successive codons, making it possible for a peptide bond to form between the two corresponding amino acids. At each step, the growing polypeptide chain becomes longer by one amino acid.





- Q: Describe How Globular Proteins Are Synthesized After Mrna Have Been Formed
There are three stages of translation. First, in initiation, a small subunit of ribosome binds to the mRNA transcript. Then, each aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase catalyses teh coupling of aminoacyl-tRNA to its specific amino acid. The first tRNA molecule, carrying...

- Translation
Translation is the process by which a triplet base sequence of mRNA molecules are converted into a specific sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain in the cytoplasm of a cell. It consists of initiation, elongation, and termination. The mRNA, a...

- Initiation In Bacteria Needs 30s Subunits And Accessory Factors
KEY TERMS:A ribosome-binding site is a sequence on bacterial mRNA that includes an initiation codon that is bound by a 30S subunit in the initiation phase of protein synthesis. An initiation complex in bacterial protein synthesis contains a small ribosome...

- Protein Synthesis Occurs By Initiation, Elongation, And Termination
KEY TERMS:The A site of the ribosome is the site that an aminoacyl-tRNA enters to base pair with the codon. The P site of the ribosome is the site that is occupied by peptidyl-tRNA, the tRNA carrying the nascent polypeptide chain, still paired with the...

- Many Ribosomes Bind To One Mrna
KEY TERMS:A polyribosome (Polysome) is an mRNA that is simultaneously being translated by several ribosomes. A nascent protein has not yet completed its synthesis; the polypeptide chain is still attached to the ribosome via a tRNA. KEY CONCEPTS:...



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