RNA and DNA structure and function

I. How do the structures of nucleic acids relate to their functions of information storage and protein
synthesis?
A. DNA and RNA differ in that DNA has is made up of the monomers, nitrogen bases, adenine, thymine,
guanine, and cytosine. RNA, however, is made of adenine, uracil, guanine, and cytosine. Also DNA is
double stranded while RNA is usually single stranded. The structures of DNA and RNA relate to their
functions of information storage according to how the nitrogen bases are paired and arranged all along
the length of the helix, which is the way the eukaryotic chromosome is shaped. However, DNA and
RNA are still related because DNA codes for RNA and thus protein synthesis is possible. The first part
of protein synthesis takes place in the nucleus where mRNA is formed from a template strand of DNA
through the use of RNA polymerase which separates a strand of DNA so that the RNA strand can be
created. From here, RNA codes like DNA except that wherever there is and adenine, a uracil is paired
with it instead of a thymine. Guanine and cytosine still pair with each other. The length of the mRNA
depends on where the promoter or start codon is and where the terminator or stop codon is. Once the
mRNA is created it goes through RNA splicing which is where the introns are removed and the
remaining exons are spliced together. RNA splicing only occurs in eukaryotes. Basically, each mRNA
codes for a certain amino acid. What happens next is the tRNA carries each amino acid to the
ribosome where the amino acids are added to a growing amino acid chain. This process is called
translation. The tRNA does this by binding to the mRNA which codes for that specific amino acid.
There are three sites on the ribosome, the P site, the A site and the E site. The P site contains the
growing chain of amino acids, the A site contains the tRNA with the next amino acid to be added to the
chain, and the E site is where the tRNA exits once it has delivered the amino acid. Once the chain
encounters the final amino acid which has a stop codon, it leaves the ribosome and is now a protein.

II. What are the similarities and differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes?
A. For starters, both eukaryotic and prokaryotic DNA is double stranded. The prokaryotic DNA is
circular and eukaryotic DNA is linear and in the shape of a double helix. Furthermore, the prokaryotic
genome is much smaller than the eukaryotic genome, but that is mostly due to the fact the eukaryotes
have differentiated cells which are specific cells for specific functions. Also, the prokaryotic genome
is less elaborately packed than the eukaryotic genome. The eukaryotic genome needs more elaborate
packing due to the vast amount of DNA that needs to be packed into a small space. Most of this extra
DNA comes from introns which are noncoding segments. This also accounts for the difference in the
size of the prokaryotic and eukaryotic genome because eukaryotes do not have introns, thus making
their genome smaller. Prokaryotic DNA makes up a small nucleoid region only visible with an
electron microscope and is associated with only a few protein molecules. Eukaryotic DNA is
complexed with a large amount of protein to form chromatin. It is highly extended and tangled during
interphase but is condensed into short, thick discrete chromosomes during mitosis. When stained,
eukaryotic chromosomes are clearly visible with a light microscope.