RNA Synthesis and Processing

Be able to give short definitions for the following terms:

Transcription:

The process of synthesizing RNA from DNA.

Initiation:

The initiation of transcription is directed by DNA sequences called promoters which tell RNA polymerase where to begin.

Promoters:

The short stretch of DNA that tells the RNA polymerase where to begin transcription.

Elongation:

The template (non-coding) strand of DNA is used as a template by RNA polymerase to add nucleotides in a 5’ to 3’ direction.

Termination:

Certain DNA sequences function as signals to tell the RNA polymerase to terminate transcription.

Three steps in the processing of hnRNA to mRNA:

Capping

Polyadenylation

Splicing