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Sometimes it feels like DNA gets all the credit. Yes. DNA is very important; it codes for your
traits. However, sometimes what gets left out is how important RNA is. Without RNA,
you actually couldn’t get that genetic message out to your cells so that they can start producing
proteins. RNA is a very important biomolecule – just as important as DNA. What we’re
going to do right now is compare and contrast RNA with DNA. This is really important to
understand because if you don’t understand it, you can’t understand protein synthesis.
Protein synthesis is the process that gets your DNA to code for the proteins that make
up so many of your traits. Let’s talk about DNA and RNA. They both sound kind of similar
and actually they are both nucleic acids, which are a type of biomolecule. Let’s go
ahead and compare and contrast them real quickly. So DNA stands for deoxyribose nucleic acid.
The “deoxyribose” is a sugar, and “nucleic acid” is the type of biomolecule it is.
DNA is also double-stranded, which means it has two strands, and it’s in a double helix
shape, also known as a twisted ladder. We also have mentioned the bases in DNA. Remember
the bases are really important because they actually code for your traits. So the bases
are adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. It helps to remember the little mneumonic
device: apples in the tree (that helps you remember that A goes with T) and car in the
garage (so C goes with G). Also, DNA is found in the nucleus. Those are all things about
DNA. RNA, on the other hand, stands for ribonucleic
acid. The “ribo” is actually part of ribose, which is a sugar. Just like DNA has “deoxyribose,”
RNA has “ribose.” They both contain a sugar. RNA also has four bases. Remember in
the DNA, they were A and T, C and G. Well in RNA, you have all the same bases except
for one: there is no T, otherwise known as thymine. There is no T in RNA. Instead, it’s
a U. The U is for uracil. So you can’t remember “Apples in the Tree” for RNA; it’s not
going to work because there is no T. Instead, try remembering “Apples Under” so it’s
kind of like the apples are under a tree. A for adenine, and U for uracil; they go together.
Also, there’s still C and G; remember, cars in the garage. That helps you remember cytosine
goes with guanine. So the bases are pretty similar for RNA except for the uracil instead
of thymine. RNA also will start out in the nucleus, but it’s going to travel out of
the nucleus. It’s going to help deliver the message. There are actually three types
of RNA. Don’t worry; what they stand for really gives away what they do. Let me give
you an example. The first type of RNA is messenger RNA, and the abbreviation is mRNA for messenger
RNA. mRNA’s job is to carry a message based off of the DNA. Second type of RNA is called
the transfer RNA or abbreviated tRNA. Its job is to transfer the message. Then we have
rRNA and that stands for ribosomal RNA. Kind of like it sounds, it actually is a component
of the ribosome. If you remember back in cells, we talked about how ribosomes make protein.
It’s very important in protein synthesis. Obviously, ribosomes are going to be involved
because that’s what we’re doing – we’re making protein. Now that you know the difference
between RNA and DNA, you’re completely ready to explore the concept of protein synthesis.
We have another clip on that fascinating process. That’s it for the Amoeba Sisters, and we
remind you to stay curious!