Essay Sample on Protein Synthesis: DNA Replication, Transcription, Translation for Cell Function

Introduction

DNA replication, transcription, and translation are all part of protein synthesis in animals. Proteins are small molecules residing in cells, which according to NIH are the elements of structuring living things. Living organisms, including human beings have numerous cells, which absorb nutrients and turn them into energy while carrying other essential and specialized functions (NIH). For cells to function, they require proteins, and cell function is vital to protect the body from withering. In simple terms, if cells stop functioning, life ceases. We have established that living things need cells to function, and cells need proteins for work; however, proteins wear out with time, and hence cells keep making more proteins in the protein synthesis process. The protein-making process of cells involves two steps, namely transcription, and translation. The two steps require a process called DNA replication to be complete.

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DNA is a material present in almost all living organisms. It is a genetic data carrier with the ability to replicate. DNA contains protein synthesis instructions that cells want hence make copies of it to aid in protein making. Each molecule of DNA produces two identical DNAs. Cell division occurs to repair damaged cells and form new structures, for instance, in the embryo growth process. Atdbio explains that when a cell divides, the DNA double strands split into two strands that act as templates for the formation of a new strand of DNA. Each new cell formed because of cell division has a complete genome. DNA replication is the base for protein synthesis because it helps make RNA, which in turn makes proteins. RNA plays the role of a messenger by carrying instructional data from DNA to control the protein-making process. Khan Academy explains that DNA replication uses the help of enzymes such as DNA polymerase, which is responsible for DNA making. The enzymes make RNA primer, which is the basis for the formation of a new strand of DNA. With the primer in place, DNA polymerase adds nucleotides to elongate it hence making a new strand of DNA. The replication process denotes raw information in terms of coded message being in the process of transfer from a cell's DNA to the protein factory, also known as the ribosome. DNA replication acts like the disseminator of information. It is through this process that information in DNA of why and when and how long to make proteins is first dispatched after specific signals have been received by cell indicating protein reduction.

Transcription

Transcription is the next step after DNA replication in the process of protein synthesis. Atdbio explains that transcription entails copying the DNA sequence of a gene to form an RNA molecule (Atdbio). A gene is made up of DNA, and it is the element that carries instructional information to make proteins. Transcription needs the enzyme RNA polymerase to link nucleotides and form a strand of RNA from a DNA strand as a template. Transcription process has three steps, namely initiation, elongation, and termination, and is separate for every gene.

Transcription in biology is explainable in simple terms using examples of real-life transcription. The definition of transcription mentions the conversion of speech, which could be live or recorded into a written document or electronic text. For instance, the process of taking notes in class as the teacher speaks is an example of transcription. The example given indicates the rewriting of information in another format that is more understandable. Just as we perform transcription in our daily lives, cells also transcribe instructions in a more defined and precise manner. The biological transcription in a cell denotes the copying of a gene's DNA sequence into a similar sequence of RNA to enable the transfer of instructions for protein synthesis. Using the class notes example, the DNA sequence is the teacher's speech, and the RNA sequence is the student's written notes. The information is the same, just in different styles. Transcription is vital in conveying messages where one party does not understand a style used in expressing information hence prefers another style. Our class example indicates that the student is likely to have difficulty in remembering what the teacher said. Hence, they take notes. For a person who is deaf, sign language is more appropriate due to the difficulty in hearing and reading lips; hence, they have their messages from speakers, transcribed in to sign language. Similarly, instructions on protein synthesis from the DNA molecule are transcribed into a style that the ribosome would comprehend, which is RNA.

The RNA undergoes processing to make mRNA or the messenger RNA, which has the responsibility of carrying instructions for the making of proteins.

Translation

The translation step follows transcription in the protein-build up process. The instructions carried from the DNA through the RNA sequence is a coded message. Using the class example, if the teacher mentions a word that the student cannot understand, that can act as a code. Even though the student will transcribe it to writing, they will still have to do some research on what it means to understand what the teacher was saying entirely. Similarly, biological translation indicates that mRNA, the final product of transcription, is a coded message that requires decoding for the formation of a protein with particular amino acids series. This coded message in the form of mRNA arrives at the ribosome, through cytoplasm once out of the nucleus. The ribosome is the final destination for this coded message because this is where the magic of protein synthesis happens. Protein build-up depends on the directions given by the messenger RNA.

Messenger RNA, even though it came to the ribosome with the instructions, it cannot accomplish the protein-build up the task without involving the transfer RNA to assist. Decoding of messenger RNA happens in the ribosome-decoding center and, as a result, a chain of a polypeptide or amino acid forms. The amino acid later transforms into a protein that is active and can perform in the cell. Decoding occurs with the assistance of transfer RNA facilitated by the ribosome. Just like the two initial steps of protein synthesis, translation also occurs in three stages. The first phase is the initiation stage, where the ribosome accumulates around the messenger RNA, and the first transfer RNA attaches to the start codon (Khan Academy). The second phase is the elongation stage, where there is a transfer of amino acid from one tRNA to the next tRNA. Once the transfer is complete, the ribosome gathers on the next messenger RNA to continue the process, which eventually leads to the creation of an amino acid chain. The last stage is termination, where a transfer RNA meets a stop codon, and the ribosome transforms the polypeptide into an active protein.

The translation process can be explained using a transcription service assignment in Spanish to an English speaker who does not speak or understand Spanish. A Spanish speaker's message on how to clean properly a pool can represent the DNA replication process. If a transcriber, turns the speech to a written document, then that is similar to the biological transcription. The end-user of this information is an English speaker with no knowledge of the Spanish language; hence, the written document has to be translated to English for that person to comprehend the message and clean their pool correctly. The messenger RNA represents the written Spanish document, which uses transfer RNA to decipher the protein-making instructions. Ribosome is similar to the English speaker, which awaits the instructions in a language it understands. With the use of transfer RNA, the message makes sense to the ribosome, which makes proteins as desired by the cell.

Works Cited

Atdbio.Transription,translation and replication. https://www.atdbio.com/content/14/Transcription-Translation-and-Replication. Accessed 02 May 2020.

Khan Academy.Molecular mechanism of DNA replication. https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/dna-as-the-genetic-material/dna-replication/a/molecular-mechanism-of-dna-replication. Accessed 02 May 2020.

Khan Academy.Stages of translation. https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/gene-expression-central-dogma/translation-polypeptides/a/the-stages-of-translation. Accessed 02 May 2020.

NIH.What is a cell? U.S National Library od Medicine, https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/basics/cell. Accessed 02 May 2020.