Types of RNA

Messenger RNA (mRNA)

mRNA is the molecule that carries the codes from DNA in the nucleus to the ribosomes. It was first described in 1956 by Elliot Volkin and Lazarus Astrachan.

Information in DNA cannot be coded directly into proteins, it is in the wrong language, so it must be transcribed first into mRNA. Each mRNA molecule will contain the instruction for making one protein. The mRNA then leaves the nucleus and it translated by the ribosomes.

The mRNA that is produced initially is called pre-mRNA, this is because it is because it still contains the introns or non-coding DNA. These are spliced from the pre-mRNA before it leaves the nucleus, splicing in a catalysed reaction where the introns are removed and the coding exons are joined together. The mRNA can now leave the nucleus as it will result in the correct protein being made.

Transfer RNA (tRNA)

tRNA is a molecule in the cell that carries amino acids to the ribosomes, where they are joined together by peptide bonds to make…