Transcription

Transcription is the process by which the information in a strand

of DNA is copied into a new molecule of messenger RNA (mRNA). DNA
safely and stably stores genetic material in the nuclei of cells as a
reference, or template. Meanwhile, mRNA is comparable to a copy
from a reference book because it carries the same information as DNA
but is not used for long-term storage and can freely exit the nucleus.
Although the mRNA contains the same information, it is not an identical
copy of the DNA segment, because its sequence is complementary to
the DNA template.
Transcription is carried out by an enzyme called RNA polymerase
and a number of accessory proteins called transcription factors.
Transcription factors can bind to specific DNA sequences called
enhancer and promoter sequences in order to recruit RNA polymerase
to an appropriate transcription site. Together, the transcription factors
and RNA polymerase form a complex called the transcription initiation
complex. This complex initiates transcription, and the RNA polymerase
begins mRNA synthesis by matching complementary bases to the
original DNA strand. The mRNA molecule is elongated and, once the
strand is completely synthesized, transcription is terminated. The newly
formed mRNA copies of the gene then serve as blueprints for protein
synthesis during the process of translation.
 Translation
The genes in DNA encode protein molecules, which are the
"workhorses" of the cell, carrying out all the functions necessary for
life. For example, enzymes, including those that metabolize nutrients
and synthesize new cellular constituents, as well as DNA polymerases
and other enzymes that make copies of DNA during cell division, are all
proteins.
In the simplest sense, expressing a gene means manufacturing its
corresponding protein, and this multilayered process has two major
steps. In the first step, the information in DNA is transferred to a
messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule by way of a process called
transcription. During transcription, the DNA of a gene serves as a
template for complementary base-pairing, and an enzyme called RNA
polymerase II catalyzes the formation of a pre-mRNA molecule, which is
then processed to form mature mRNA (Figure 1). The resulting mRNA is
a single-stranded copy of the gene, which next must be translated into
a protein molecule.
During translation, which is the second major step in gene
expression, the mRNA is "read" according to the genetic code, which
relates the DNA sequence to the amino acid sequence in proteins
(Figure 2). Each group of three bases in mRNA constitutes a codon, and
each codon specifies a particular amino acid (hence, it is a triplet code).
The mRNA sequence is thus used as a template to assemble—in
order—the chain of amino acids that form a protein.
 Replication
Replication is the process by which a double-stranded DNA
molecule is copied to produce two identical DNA molecules. DNA
replication is one of the most basic processes that occurs within a cell.
Each time a cell divides, the two resulting daughter cells must contain
exactly the same genetic information, or DNA, as the parent cell. To
accomplish this, each strand of existing DNA acts as a template for
replication. Replication occurs in three major steps: the opening of the
double helix and separation of the DNA strands, the priming of the
template strand, and the assembly of the new DNA segment. During
separation, the two strands of the DNA double helix uncoil at a specific
location called the origin. Several enzymes and proteins then work
together to prepare, or prime, the strands for duplication. Finally, a
special enzyme called DNA polymerase organizes the assembly of the
new DNA strands. The following description of this three-stage process
applies generally to all cells, but specific variations within the process
may occur depending on organism and cell type.
The initiation of DNA replication occurs in two steps. First, a so-
called initiator protein unwinds a short stretch of the DNA double helix.
Then, a protein known as helicase attaches to and breaks apart the
hydrogen bonds between the bases on the DNA strands, thereby
pulling apart the two strands. As the helicase moves along the DNA
molecule, it continues breaking these hydrogen bonds and separating
the two polynucleotide chains.
Meanwhile, as the helicase separates the strands, another
enzyme called primase briefly attaches to each strand and assembles a
foundation at which replication can begin. This foundation is a short
stretch of nucleotides called a primer.
After the primer is in place on a single, unwound polynucleotide
strand, DNA polymerase wraps itself around that strand, and it attaches
new nucleotides to the exposed nitrogenous bases. In this way, the
polymerase assembles a new DNA strand on top of the existing one.
As DNA polymerase makes its way down the unwound DNA
strand, it relies upon the pool of free-floating nucleotides surrounding
the existing strand to build the new strand. The nucleotides that make
up the new strand are paired with partner nucleotides in the template
strand; because of their molecular structures, A and T nucleotides
always pair with one another, and C and G nucleotides always pair with
one another. This phenomenon is known as complementary base
pairing (Figure 4), and it results in the production of two
complementary strands of DNA.
 A schematic shows a region of DNA, with part of the DNA being
single-stranded and most of the DNA being double-stranded. A
transparent blue globular structure, representing the enzyme DNA
polymerase, is bound to a several-nucleotide-long region along the DNA
strand about a quarter of the way from the left side. The DNA is single-
stranded to the left of DNA polymerase and double stranded to the
right, indicating that DNA polymerase is moving from right to left as it
replicates the DNA strand. The sugar-phosphate backbone is depicted
as a segmented grey cylinder. Nitrogenous bases are represented by
blue, orange, red, or green vertical rectangles attached above each
segment of the sugar-phosphate backbone. The region of DNA bound
by DNA polymerase is visible inside the transparent enzyme at a higher
magnification. Six nucleotides in this region are bound to six
complementary nucleotides arranged above and in parallel to the single
strand, forming red-green or blue-orange pairs of rungs between the
grey cylinders. About a half dozen individual nucleotides float in the
background.
Base pairing ensures that the sequence of nucleotides in the
existing template strand is exactly matched to a complementary
sequence in the new strand, also known as the anti-sequence of the
template strand. Later, when the new strand is itself copied, its
complementary strand will contain the same sequence as the original
template strand. Thus, as a result of complementary base pairing, the
replication process proceeds as a series of sequence and anti-sequence
copying that preserves the coding of the original DNA.