Biology as Poetry: Genetics

Bacteriophage Ecology Group

Messenger RNA Processing

Intron removal, addition of 5' cap, and addition of poly A tail, all as seen within eukaryotic cells.

Because of the nucleus in the eukaryotic cells, there is a segregation between transcription and translation. It is during this "gap" over the course of a gene's expression that processing of messenger RNA occurs.

The processing of mRNA is relatively lacking in prokaryotic cells. As a result, eukaryotes possess an additional layer of control over gene expression that is not present in prokaryotes, with the close association of transcription and translation preventing similar control mechanisms in prokaryotes from being present.

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