How to Transcribe a DNA Strand into mRNA and Translate it into a Polypeptide Chain?

To transcribe and translate the given DNA strand into mRNA and then into a polypeptide chain, follow these steps:

1. Transcription

The first step is to transcribe the DNA sequence into mRNA. DNA is transcribed into mRNA by replacing each thymine (T) with uracil (U). The given DNA strand is:

DNA Strand: A T A C G A A A T C G C G A T C G C G G C G A T T C G G

Transcribing this will result in:

mRNA Strand: U A U G C U U U A G C G C U A G C G C C G C U A A G C C

2. Translating mRNA to a Polypeptide

Next, we translate the mRNA into a polypeptide chain by dividing the mRNA into codons (groups of three nucleotides). Here are the mRNA codons:

  • UAG
  • CUU
  • AGC
  • GCU
  • AGC
  • GCC
  • GCU
  • AAG
  • CC

Using a codon table, we can see which amino acids correspond to these codons:

  • UAG – Stop
  • CUG – Leucine (Leu)
  • AGC – Serine (Ser)
  • GCU – Alanine (Ala)
  • GCC – Alanine (Ala)
  • GCU – Alanine (Ala)
  • AAG – Lysine (Lys)

Putting it all together, the polypeptide chain is as follows:

Amino Acid Sequence: Stop – Leu – Ser – Ala – Ala – Ala – Lys

Conclusion

In summary, by transcribing the given DNA strand into mRNA and then translating that mRNA into a polypeptide sequence, we identified the corresponding codons and resulting amino acids. This process is fundamental in molecular biology and genetics.

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