RNA
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
RNA is an acronym for ribonucleic acid, a nucleic acid. RNA is transcribed from DNA by an enzyme called RNA polymerase and further processed by other enzymes.
RNA translated genes into proteins, transferring amino acids to the ribosome to form proteins, and also translating the transcript into proteins.This process is called translation.
RNA is physically different to DNA: DNA contains 2 intercoiled strands whereas RNA only contains 1. RNA also contains different bases to DNA. It contains:
(A) Adenine (G) Guanine (C) Cytosine (U) Uracil
The first three bases are also found in DNA, but Uracil replaces Thymine as a complement to Adenine.
RNA also contains Ribose as opposed to Deoxyribose found in DNA.
RNA is the carrier of genetic material in differnt types of viruses such ad AIDS virus i.e. HIV (HUMAN IMMUNO DEFICIENCY VIRUS) and in that case called a retrovirus.
