Ribonucleic acid
From Biology
Ribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid made from a long chain of nucleotide units. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous base, a ribose sugar, and a phosphate. RNA is similar to DNA, but they differentiate in three aspects:
[edit] Differences to DNA
- RNA contains ribose, DNA has deoxyribose
- RNA is single-stranded, DNA is a double-stranded helix
- RNA has the nitrogenous base uracil instead of thymine
[edit] Function
RNA's main function is to replicate (copy) the DNA. It is made in several phases in which ribosomes and RNA polymerases make the replication. There are three main types of RNA which are involved in this replication:
- Messenger RNA
- Transfer RNA
- Ribosomal RNA
The process can be read at DNA replication.
RNA has also a role in the regulation of genes, separating the introns (non-coding parts in genes) from exons (coding parts which finally transcribe into proteins).
