• Question: What are the functions of mRNA?

    Asked by snacks2 to Chris, Kay, Kerstin, Lorna, Liv on 22 Mar 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Kerstin Zechner

      Kerstin Zechner answered on 22 Mar 2010:

      mRNA is basically the blueprint for building a protein. It is copied from a DNA sequence corresponding to a gene.

    • Photo: Kay Penicud

      Kay Penicud answered on 23 Mar 2010:

      mRNA is how the ‘recipe’ for a protein is taken to the place in the cell where the proteins are put together. Its the link between your DNA information and actually making a protein.

      There are a whole load of other RNAs though! tRNA and rRNA are part of the big ‘factory complex’ (a ribosome) that actually reads the mRNA and put the protein togther correctly. shRNA are very small RNAs which bind to mRNAs and affect how much protein each mRNA will make.

    • Photo: Olivia Hibbitt

      Olivia Hibbitt answered on 23 Mar 2010:

      Hi snacks2,

      mRNA is the intermediate between DNA and protein. Basically if a cell needs to make a specific protein….the DNA is unwound and the mRNA is made based on the DNA information……that out of the nucleus, into the cytoplasm where it get’s used as a template to make protein…….if making protein was like baking a cake……the cook book would be DNA….all the ingredients would be mRNA and the finished product would be protein!

    • Photo: Chris Needham

      Chris Needham answered on 23 Mar 2010:

      To save a long explanation, you could take a look on wikipedia:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA

Comments

  • Photo: snacks2

    snacks2 commented on :

    🙂 thank you for your answers however, I was referring to the other functions of mRNA [at least, I think that’s the right RNA molecule.. sorry, I’ve left my folder at home and forgot to add the specific bits into my original questions]

    Just thought I’d let you know I wasn’t referring to that function [i guess you might think im pretty silly at A2 level not to know what mRNA does in protein synthesis :P]