Posted on 12th Nov 2021 04:16:26 in

Question 14. Briefly describe the following:
(a) Transcription
(b) Polymorphism
(c) Translation
(d) Bioinformatics

Answer:

(a) Transcription

Transcription is the process of synthesis of RNA from DNA template. A segment of DNA gets copied into mRNA during the process.

The three important events that occur during the process of transcription are as
follows.

• Initiation
• Elongation
• Termination

Initiation: The DNA-dependent RNA polymerase and certain initiation factors (σ) bind at the double stranded DNA at the promoter region of the template strand and initiate the process of transcription.

Elongation:

RNA polymerase moves along the DNA and leads to the unwinding of DNA duplex into two separate strands. Then, one of the strands, called sense strand, acts as template for mRNA synthesis. The enzyme, RNA polymerase, utilizes
nucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs) as raw material and polymerizes them to form mRNA according to the complementary bases present on the template DNA.

Termination: This process of opening of helix and elongation of polynucleotide chain continues until the enzyme reaches the terminator region. As RNA polymerase reaches the terminator region, the newly synthesized mRNA transcripted along with
enzyme is released. Another factor called terminator factor (ρ) is required for the termination of the transcription.

(b) Polymorphism

Polymorphism is a form of genetic variation in which distinct nucleotide sequence can exist at a particular site in a DNA molecule. It arises due to mutation either in somatic cell or in the germ cells. The germ cell mutation can be transmitted from
parents to their offsprings.

This results in accumulation of various mutations in a population, leading to variation and polymorphism in the population. This plays a very important role in the process of evolution and speciation.

(c) Translation :-
Translation is the process of polymerizing amino acid to form a polypeptide chain. The triplet sequence of base pairs in mRNA defines the order and sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain.

The process of translation involves three steps.

1.  Initiation : During the initiation of the translation, tRNA gets charged when the amino acid binds to it using ATP. The start (initiation) codon (AUG) present on mRNA is recognized only by the charged tRNA. The ribosome acts as an actual site for the process of translation and contains two separate sites in a large subunit for the attachment of subsequent amino acids. The small subunit of ribosome binds to mRNA at the initiation codon (AUG) followed by the large subunit. Then, it initiates the process of translation.
2. Elongation: During the elongation process, the ribosome moves one codon downstream along with mRNA so as to leave the space for binding of another charged tRNA. The amino acid brought by tRNA gets linked with the previous amino acid through a peptide bond and this process continues resulting in the formation of a polypeptide chain.
3. Termination: When the ribosome reaches one or more STOP codon (VAA, UAG, and UGA), the process of translation gets terminated. The polypeptide chain is released and the ribosomes get detached from mRNA.

(d) Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics is the application of computational and statistical techniques to the field of molecular biology. The field of bioinformatics developed after the completion of human genome project (HGP). This is because enormous amount of data has been generated during the process of HGP that has to be managed and stored for easy access and interpretation for future use by various scientists. Hence, bioinformatics involves the creation of biological databases that store the vast information of biology.

It involves development of certain tools for easy and efficient access to the information and its utilization. Bioinformatics has developed new algorithms and statistical methods to find out the relationship between the data, to predict protein structure and their functions, and to cluster the protein sequences into their related families.