The Jaina Doctrine of Karma And The Science Of Genetics: RNA - The Process Of Transcription

RNA

The basic building block of RNA are almost the same as those of DNA except for two differences. First, the sugar deoxyribo is not used in the formation of RNA. In its place is another sugar of very slightly different composition, ribose. Second thymine is replaced by another pyrimide, uracil.

RNA - The Process Of Transcription

Because almost all DNA is located in the nucleus of the cell and yet most of the functions of cell are carried out in the cytoplasm, some means must be available for the genes of nucleus to control the chemical reactions of cytoplasm. This is achieved through the intermediatary of another type of nucleic acid, RNA, the formation of which is controlled by the DNA of nucleus. In this process the code is transferred to the RNA, which is called transcription. The RNA then diffused from the nucleus through the nuclear pores into the cytoplasm compartment, where it controls protein synthesis.

Assembly of the RNA molecule is accomplished in the manner illustrated in above figure under the influence of the enzyme RNA polymerase. This is a very large enzyme that has many functional properties necessary for the formation of RNA molecule.

It should be remembered that there are four different types of DNA base and also four different types of RNA nucleotide bases. Further more, these always combine with each other is specific transmitted in complimentary from to the RNA molecule. The ribose nucleotide bases always combine with the deoxyribose bases in the following combination:

#	DNA Base	RNA base
01.	Guanine	Cytosine
02.	Cytosine	Guanine
03.	Adenine	Uracil
04.	Thymine	Adenine

After the RNA molecules have been released into the nucleoplasm, they still must be processed further before entering the cytoplasm. The reason for this is that the newly transcribed RNA contains many unwanted sequences of RNA nucleotides. Some of other occur at both ends of the RNA strand, and many other occur in the middle of the strand, this unwanted material probably constitutes more than 90% of the total strand. Fortunately, a series of enzymes with in the nucloplasm has the capability to cut out these unwanted sequences and then resplicing the RNA strand, a process called RNA splicing. The RNA is now ready to be used for formation of proteins.

There are three separate types of RNA each of which play independent and entirely different role in protein formation. These are:

1. Messenger RNA, which carries the genetic code to the cytoplasm for controlling the formation of proteins.
2. Transfer RNA, which transport activated amino acids to the ribosomes to be used in assembling the protein molecules and
3. Ribosomal RNA, which along with about 75 different proteins forms the ribosomes, the physical and chemical structure on which protein molecules are actually assembled.