Nucleic acid

A nucleic acid is a complex, high-molecular-weight biochemical macromolecule

composed of nucleotide chains that convey genetic information. The most common
nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA).
Nucleic acids are found in all living cells and viruses.

Schematic diagram of a double-stranded nucleic acid. Yellow-green shaded circles

represent phosphate; green-hatched circles represent pentose; red-slashed circles
represent nitrogenous bases. Solid lines represent covalent bonds; dotted lines
represent hydrogen bonds.
Nucleic acid, so called because of its prevalence in cellular nuclei, is the generic name
of family of biopolymers. The monomers are called nucleotides, and each consists of
three components: a nitrogenous heterocyclic base (either a purine or a pyrimidine), a
pentose sugar, and a phosphate group. Different nucleic acid types differ in the
specific sugar found in their chain (e.g. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid contains 2deoxyriboses). Also, the nitrogenous bases possible in the two nucleic acids are
different: adenine, cytosine, and guanine are possible in both RNA and DNA, while
thymine is possible only in DNA and uracil is possible only in RNA.
The sugars and phosphates in nucleic acids are connected to each other in an
alternating chain through shared oxygens (forming a phosphodiester functional
group). Using the conventional nomenclature, the carbons to which the phosphate
groups are attached are the 3' and the 5' carbons. The bases extend from a glycosidic
linkage to the 1' carbon of the pentose ring.
Nucleic acids may be single-stranded or double-stranded. A double-stranded nucleic
acid consists of two single-stranded nucleic acids hydrogen-bonded together. RNA is
usually single-stranded, but any given strand is likely to fold back upon itself to form
double-helical regions. DNA is usually double-stranded, though some viruses have
single-stranded DNA as their genome.
Nucleic acids are primarily biology's means of storing and transmitting genetic
information, though RNA is also capable of acting as an enzyme.

Hydrophobic interaction of nucleic acids is poorly understood. Nucleic acids are

insoluble in ethanol and insoluble in TCA.insoluble in cold water, hot water, dil HCl.
Soluble in dil NaOH, alcohol and HCl There are various common sources of DNA
and RNA:

Calf thymus DNA provides large linear DNA. It contains many breaks.
T4 phage DNA is circular and can be isolated intact.
Teichoic acids present in the cell walls of some gram-positive bacteria present
a chemical structure resembling nucleic acids without the nucleobases.

Nucleotide
Nucleotide codes
Code Equivalence

Complement

T or U

T or U T

A or C

A or G

A or T

C or G

C or T

G or T

A or C or G

A or C or T

A or G or T

C or G or T

X or N A or C or G or T X
A nucleotide is a monomer or the structural unit of nucleotide chains forming nucleic
acids as RNA and DNA. A nucleotide consists of a heterocyclic nucleobase, a pentose
sugar (ribose or deoxiribose), and a phosphate or polyphosphate group. Nucleotides
also play important roles in cellular energy transport and transformations (notably
ATP and NAD+/NADH), and in enzyme regulation (see for example, protein kinase).
The nucleobase can be purines or pyrimidines, the sugar can be deoxyribose in DNA
or ribose in RNA, and the phosphate chain can be a monophosphate, diphosphate, or
triphosphate. A nucleotide that lacks the phosphate group is called nucleoside.

Nomenclature
Nucleotide names are abbreviated into standard four-letter codes. The first letter is
lower case and indicates whether the nucleotide in question is a ribonucleotide (r) or
deoxyribonucleotide (d). The second letter indicates the nucleoside corresponding to
the nucleobase:
G: Guanine
A: Adenine
T: Thymine
C: Cytosine
U: Uracil not present in DNA, but takes the place of Thymine in RNA
The third and fourth letters indicate the length of the attached phosphate chain
(Mono-, Di-, Tri-) and the presence of a phosphate (P).
For example, deoxy-cytidine-triphosphate is abbreviated as dCTP.

Chemical structures
Nucleotides

Adenosine monophosphate Adenosine diphosphate Adenosine triphosphate

AMP
ADP
ATP
Guanosine monophosphate Guanosine diphosphate Guanosine triphosphate
GMP
GDP
GTP
Thymidine monophosphate Thymidine diphosphate Thymidine triphosphate
TMP
TDP
TTP
Uridine
UMP

monophosphate Uridine
UDP

diphosphate Uridine
UTP

triphosphate

Cytidine
CMP

monophosphate Cytidine
CDP

diphosphate Cytidine
CTP

triphosphate

Deoxynucleotides

Deoxyadenosine
monophosphate
dAMP

Deoxyadenosine
diphosphate
dADP

Deoxyadenosine triphosphate
dATP

Deoxyguanosine
monophosphate
dGMP

Deoxyguanosine
diphosphate
dGDP

Deoxyguanosine triphosphate
dGTP

Deoxythymidine
monophosphate
dTMP

Deoxythymidine
diphosphate
dTDP

Deoxythymidine triphosphate
dTTP

Deoxyuridine
monophosphate
dUMP

Deoxyuridine diphosphate Deoxyuridine

dUDP
dUTP

Deoxycytidine
monophosphate
dCMP

Deoxycytidine
diphosphate
dCDP

Nucleoside

Deoxycytidine
dCTP

triphosphate

triphosphate

Nucleobase

Nucleoside

Deoxynucleoside

Adenosine
A

Deoxyadenosine
dA

Guanosine
G

Deoxyguanosine
dG

5-Methyluridine
m5U

Deoxythymidine
dT

Uridine
U

Deoxyuridine
dU

Cytidine
C

Deoxycytidine
dC

Adenine

Guanine

Thymine

Uracil

Cytosine

glycosylamines made by attaching a nucleobase to a ribose ring. Examples of these

include cytidine, uridine, adenosine, guanosine, thymidine and inosine.
Nucleosides can be phosphorylated by specific kinases in the cell, producing
nucleotides, which are the molecular building blocks of DNA and RNA.
Nucleoside triphosphates are the energy rich end products of the majority of
biochemical energy releasing pathways.

Adenosine triphosphate

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the nucleotide known in biochemistry as the

"molecular currency" of intracellular energy transfer; that is, ATP is able to store and
transport chemical energy within cells. ATP also plays an important role in the
synthesis of nucleic acids. ATP molecules are also used to store the usable energy that
plants convert in cellular respiration.

Chemical properties
Chemically, ATP consists of adenosine and three phosphate groups(triphosphate). It
has the empirical formula C10H16N5O13P3, and the chemical formula
C10H8N4O2NH2(OH)2(PO3H)3H, with a molecular mass of 507.184 u. The phosphoryl
groups starting with that on AMP are referred to as the alpha (), beta (), and gamma
() phosphates. The biochemical names for ATP are 9--D-ribofuranosyladenine-5'triphosphate and, equivalently, 9--D-ribofuranosyl-6-amino-purine-5'-triphosphate.

Synthesis

Space filling image of ATP

ATP can be produced by various cellular processes, most typically in mitochondria by
oxidative phosphorylation under the catalytic influence of ATP synthase or in the case
of plants in chloroplasts by photosynthesis. The main fuels for ATP synthesis are
glucose and fatty acids. Initially glucose is broken down into pyruvate in the cytosol.
Two molecules of ATP are generated for each molecule of glucose. The terminal

stages of ATP synthesis are carried out in the mitochondrion and can generate up to 36
ATP.

ATP in the human body

The total quantity of ATP in the human body is about 0.1 mole. The energy used by
human cells requires the hydrolysis of 200 to 300 moles of ATP daily. This means that
each ATP molecule is recycled 2000 to 3000 times during a single day. ATP cannot be
stored, hence its consumption must closely follow its synthesis. On a per hour basis, 1
kilogram of ATP is created, processed and then recycled in the body.

Other triphosphates
Living cells also have other "high-energy" nucleoside triphosphates, such as
guanosine triphosphate. Between them and ATP, energy can be easily transferred with
reactions such as those catalyzed by nucleoside diphosphokinase: Energy is released
when hydrolysis of the phosphate-phosphate bonds is carried out. This energy can be
used by a variety of enzymes, motor proteins, and transport proteins to carry out the
work of the cell. Also, the hydrolysis yields free inorganic phosphate and adenosine
diphosphate, which can be broken down further to another phosphate ion and
adenosine monophosphate. ATP can also be broken down to adenosine
monophosphate directly, with the formation of pyrophosphate. This last reaction has
the advantage of being an effectively irreversible process in aqueous solution.

Reaction of ADP with GTP

ADP + GTP

ATP + GDP

There is talk of using ATP as a power source for nanotechnology and implants.
Artificial pacemakers could become independent of batteries.

DNA

Space-filling model of a section of DNA molecule

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions
specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life (and many viruses).
DNA is often referred to as the molecule of heredity, as it is responsible for the
genetic propagation of most inherited traits. During reproduction, DNA is replicated
and transmitted to the offspring.
In bacteria (prokaryotes), DNA is not separated from the cytoplasm by a nuclear
envelope. By contrast, in the complex cells that make up other organisms (plants,
animals, fungi and protists), most of the DNA is located in the cell nucleus. The
energy-generating organelles known as chloroplasts and mitochondria also carry
DNA, as do many viruses.
Basically what the description above says is that DNA is a basic building block of life
and that it contains all the information that living things need to function correctly.
For example, in humans this can range from your hair colour to the ability to roll your
tongue and to any herditary diseases.
Your DNA is composed of genes inherited from both your mother and father. DNA
from both of your parents was combined to form the genome of a fertilized egg (that's
you), then that egg divided many times, copying the DNA before every division, until
all the cells of your body were formed. As a result, each cell in your body contains
copies of the DNA from your parents (except red blood cells, which lose their
chromosomal DNA but cannot divide).

Overview of molecular structure

Schematic representation of the DNA which illustrates its double helix structure
Although sometimes called "the molecule of heredity", pieces of DNA as people
typically think of them are not single molecules. Rather, they are pairs of molecules,
which entwine like vines to form a double helix (see the illustration at the right).
Each vine-like molecule is a strand of DNA: a chemically linked chain of
nucleotides, each of which consists of a sugar, a phosphate and one of five kinds
of nucleobases ("bases"). Because DNA strands are composed of these nucleotide
subunits, they are polymers.
The diversity of the bases means that there are five kinds of nucleotides, which are
commonly referred to by the identity of their bases. These are adenine (A), thymine
(T), uracil (U), cytosine (C), and guanine (G). U is rarely found in DNA except as a
result of chemical degradation of C, but in some viruses, notably PBS1 phage DNA,
U completely replaces the usual T in its DNA. Similarly, RNA usually contains U in
place of T, but in certain RNAs such as transfer RNA, T is always found in some
positions. Thus, the only true difference between DNA and RNA is the sugar, 2deoxyribose in DNA and ribose in RNA.
In a DNA double helix, two polynucleotide strands can associate through the
hydrophobic effect and pi stacking. Specificity of which strands stay associated is
determined by complementary pairing. Each base forms hydrogen bonds readily to
only one other -- A to T and C to G -- so that the identity of the base on one strand
dictates the strength of the association; the more complementary bases exist, the
stronger and longer-lasting the association.
The cell's machinery is capable of melting or disassociating a DNA double helix, and
using each DNA strand as a template for synthesizing a new strand which is nearly
identical to the previous strand. Errors that occur in the synthesis are known as
mutations. The process known as PCR (polymerase chain reaction) mimics this
process in vitro in a nonliving system.

Because pairing causes the nucleotide bases to face the helical axis, the sugar and
phosphate groups of the nucleotides run along the outside; the two chains they form
are sometimes called the "backbones" of the helix. In fact, it is chemical bonds
between the phosphates and the sugars that link one nucleotide to the next in the DNA
strand.

DNA replication

DNA replication
DNA replication or DNA synthesis is the process of copying the double-stranded
DNA prior to cell division. The two resulting double strands are generally almost
perfectly identical, but occasionally errors in replication can result in a less than
perfect copy (see mutation), and each of them consists of one original and one newly
synthesized strand. This is called semiconservative replication. The process of
replication consists of three steps: initiation, replication and termination.

Strands association and dissociation

The hydrogen bonds between the strands of the double helix are weak enough that
they can be easily separated by enzymes. Enzymes known as helicases unwind the
strands to facilitate the advance of sequence-reading enzymes such as DNA
polymerase. The unwinding requires that helicases chemically cleave the phosphate
backbone of one of the strands so that it can swivel around the other. The strands can
also be separated by gentle heating, as used in PCR, provided they have fewer than
about 10,000 base pairs (10 kilobase pairs, or 10 kbp). The intertwining of the DNA
strands makes long segments difficult to separate.

Circular DNA
When the ends of a piece of double-helical DNA are joined so that it forms a circle, as
in plasmid DNA, the strands are topologically knotted. This means they cannot be
separated by gentle heating or by any process that does not involve breaking a strand.
The task of unknotting topologically linked strands of DNA falls to enzymes known
as topoisomerases. Some of these enzymes unknot circular DNA by cleaving two
strands so that another double-stranded segment can pass through. Unknotting is
required for the replication of circular DNA as well as for various types of
recombination in linear DNA.

Great length versus tiny breadth

The narrow breadth of the double helix makes it impossible to detect by conventional
electron microscopy, except by heavy staining. At the same time, the DNA found in
many cells can be macroscopic in length -- approximately 5 centimetres long for
strands in a human chromosome. Consequently, cells must compact or "package"
DNA to carry it within them. This is one of the functions of the chromosomes, which
contain spool-like proteins known as histones, around which DNA winds.

Entropic stretching behavior

When DNA is in solution, it undergoes conformational fluctuations due to the energy
available in the thermal bath. For entropic reasons, more floppy states are thermally
accessible than stretched out states; for this reason, a single molecule of DNA
stretches similarly to a rubber band. Using optical tweezers, the entropic stretching
behavior of DNA has been studied and analyzed from a polymer physics perspective,
and it has been found that DNA behaves like the Kratky-Porod worm-like chain
model with a persistence length of about 53 nm.
Furthermore, DNA undergoes a stretching phase transition at a force of 65 pN; above
this force, DNA is thought to take the form that Linus Pauling originally
hypothesized, with the phosphates in the middle and bases splayed outward. This
proposed structure for overstretched DNA has been called "P-form DNA," in honor of
Pauling.

Different helix geometries

The DNA helix can assume one of three slightly different geometries, of which the
"B" form described by James D. Watson and Francis Crick is believed to predominate
in cells. It is 2 nanometres wide and extends 3.4 nanometres per 10 bp of sequence.
This is also the approximate length of sequence in which the double helix makes one
complete turn about its axis. This frequency of twist (known as the helical pitch)
depends largely on stacking forces that each base exerts on its neighbors in the chain.

Supercoiled DNA
The B form of the DNA helix twists 360 per 10.6 bp in the absence of strain. But
many molecular biological processes can induce strain. A DNA segment with excess
or insufficient helical twisting is referred to, respectively, as positively or negatively
"supercoiled". DNA in vivo is typically negatively supercoiled, which facilitates the
unwinding of the double-helix required for RNA transcription.

Conditions for formation of A and Z helices

The two other known double-helical forms of DNA, called A and Z, differ modestly in
their geometry and dimensions. The A form appears likely to occur only in dehydrated
samples of DNA, such as those used in crystallographic experiments, and possibly in
hybrid pairings of DNA and RNA strands. Segments of DNA that cells have
methylated for regulatory purposes may adopt the Z geometry, in which the strands
turn about the helical axis like a mirror image of the B form.

Table of comparison of the properties of different helical forms

Geometry attribute
Helix sense
Repeating unit
Rotation/bp
Mean bp/turn
Inclination of bp to axis
Rise/bp along axis
Pitch/turn of helix
Mean propeller twist
Glycosyl angle
Sugar pucker
Diameter

A-form
B-form
Z-form
right-handed right-handed left-handed
1 bp
1 bp
2 bp
33.6
35.9
60/2
10.7
10.0
12
+19
-1.2
-9
0.23 nm
0.332 nm
0.38 nm
2.46 nm
3.32 nm
4.56 nm
+18
+16
0
C:
anti,
anti
anti
G: syn
C: C2'-endo,
C3'-endo
C2'-endo
G: C2'-exo
2.6 nm
2.0 nm
1.8 nm

Non-helical forms
Other, including non-helical, forms of DNA have been described, for example a sideby-side (SBS) configuration. Indeed, it is far from certain that the B-form double
helix is the dominant form in living cells.

Direction of DNA strands

The asymmetric shape and linkage of nucleotides means that a DNA strand always
has a discernible orientation or directionality. Because of this directionality, close
inspection of a double helix reveals that nucleotides are heading one way along one
strand (the "ascending strand"), and the other way along the other strand (the
"descending strand"). This arrangement of the strands is called antiparallel.

Chemical nomenclature (5' and 3')

For reasons of chemical nomenclature, people who work with DNA refer to the
asymmetric ends of \"five prime" and "three prime"). DNA workers and enzymes
alike always read nucleotide sequences in the "5' to 3' direction". In a vertically
oriented double helix, the 3' strand is said to be ascending while the 5' strand is said to
be descending.

Sense and antisense

As a result of their antiparallel arrangement and the sequence-reading preferences of
enzymes, even if both strands carried identical instead of complementary sequences,
cells could properly translate only one of them. The other strand a cell can only read
backwards. Molecular biologists call a sequence "sense" if it is translated or
translatable, and they call its complement "antisense". It follows then, somewhat
paradoxically, that the template for transcription is the antisense strand. The resulting
transcript is an RNA replica of the sense strand and is itself sense.

An exception: viruses
Some viruses blur the distinction between sense and antisense, because certain
sequences of their genomes do double duty, encoding one protein when read 5' to 3'
along one strand, and a second protein when read in the opposite direction along the
other strand. As a result, the genomes of these viruses are unusually compact for the
number of genes they contain, which biologists view as an adaptation.

As viewed by topologists
Topologists like to note that the juxtaposition of the 3 end of one DNA strand beside
the 5 end of the other at both ends of a double-helical segment makes the
arrangement a "crab canon".

Single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and repair of mutations

In some viruses DNA appears in a non-helical, single-stranded form. Because many of
the DNA repair mechanisms of cells work only on paired bases, viruses that carry
single-stranded DNA genomes mutate more frequently than they would otherwise. As
a result, such species may adapt more rapidly to avoid extinction. The result would
not be so favorable in more complicated and more slowly replicating organisms,
however, which may explain why only viruses carry single-stranded DNA. These
viruses presumably also benefit from the lower cost of replicating one strand versus
two.

The history of DNA research

James Watson in the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge

The discovery that DNA was the carrier of genetic information was a process that
required many earlier discoveries. The existence of DNA was discovered in the mid
19th century. However, it was only in the early 20th century that researchers began
suggesting that it might store genetic information. This was only accepted after the
structure of DNA was elucidated by Watson and Crick in their 1953 Nature
publication. Watson and Crick proposed the central dogma of molecular biology in
1957, describing the process whereby proteins are produced from nucleic DNA.

First isolation of DNA

Working in the 19th century, biochemists initially isolated DNA and RNA (mixed
together) from cell nuclei. They were relatively quick to appreciate the polymeric
nature of their "nucleic acid" isolates, but realized only later that nucleotides were of
two types--one containing ribose and the other deoxyribose. It was this subsequent
discovery that led to the identification and naming of DNA as a substance distinct
from RNA.
Friedrich Miescher (1844-1895) discovered a substance he called "nuclein" in 1869.
Somewhat later, he isolated a pure sample of the material now known as DNA from
the sperm of salmon, and in 1889 his pupil, Richard Altmann, named it "nucleic acid".
This substance was found to exist only in the chromosomes.

Publishing of the "Central Dogma"

Watson and Crick's model attracted great interest immediately upon its presentation.
Arriving at their conclusion on February 21, 1953, Watson and Crick made their first
announcement on February 28. Their paper 'A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic
Acid' was published on April 25. In an influential presentation in 1957, Crick laid out
the "Central Dogma", which foretold the relationship between DNA, RNA, and
proteins, and articulated the "sequence hypothesis." A critical confirmation of the
replication mechanism that was implied by the double-helical structure followed in
1958 in the form of the Meselson-Stahl experiment. Work by Crick and coworkers
showed that the genetic code was based on non-overlapping triplets of codons, and
Har Gobind Khorana and others deciphered the genetic code not long afterward.
These findings represent the birth of molecular biology.
Watson, Crick, and Wilkins were awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology or
Medicine for discovering the molecular structure of DNA, by which time Franklin
had died. Nobel prizes are not awarded posthumously; had she lived, the difficult
decision over whom to jointly award the prize would have been complicated as the
prize can only be shared between two or three. The process of the actual nomination is
covered in Graeme Hunter's biography of Sir Lawrence Bragg, "Light is a Messenger"
(pub. 2004)

RNA
Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a nucleic acid consisting of a string of covalently-bound
nucleotides. It is biochemically distinguished from DNA by the presence of an
additional hydroxyl group, attached to each pentose ring. While RNA usually contains
uracil instead of thymine, this is not always true, for example in transfer RNA. One of
the main functions of RNA is to copy genetic information from DNA (via
transcription) and then translate it into proteins (by translation).

Chemical structure

RNA with its nitrogenous bases to the left and DNA to the right.
RNA has five different bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, uracil, and more rarely
thymine. The first three are the same as those found in DNA, but uracil usually
replaces thymine as the base complementary to adenine. Exceptions include transfer
RNA, which always has thymine on one of its loops. This may be because uracil is
energetically less expensive to produce. In DNA, however, uracil is readily produced
by chemical degradation of cytosine, so having thymine as the normal base makes
detection and repair of such incipient mutations more efficient. Thus, uracil is
appropriate for RNA, where quantity is important but lifespan is not, whereas thymine
is appropriate for DNA where maintaining sequence with high fidelity is more critical.

Comparison to DNA
Structurally, RNA is indistinguishable from DNA except for the critical presence of a
hydroxyl group attached to the pentose ring in the 2' position (DNA has a hydrogen
atom rather than a hydroxyl group). This hydroxyl group makes RNA less stable than
DNA because it makes hydrolysis of the phosphosugar backbone easier.

Synthesis
Synthesis of RNA is usually catalyzed by an enzyme, RNA polymerase, using DNA
as a template. Initiation of synthesis begins with the binding of the enzyme to a
promoter sequence in the DNA (usually found "upstream" of a gene). The DNA
double helix is unwound by the helicase activity of the enzyme. The enzyme then
progresses along the template strand in the 3' -> 5' direction, synthesizing a
complementary RNA molecule. The DNA sequence also dictates where termination of
RNA synthesis will occur.

RNA world hypothesis

The RNA world hypothesis proposes that the universal ancestor to all life relied on
RNA both to carry genetic information (like DNA does now) and to catalyze
biochemical reactions like an enzyme. In effect, RNA was, before the emergence of
the first cell, the dominant, and probably the only, form of life. This hypothesis is
inspired by the fact that retroviruses use RNA as their sole genetic material, and
performed information-storing tasks. RNA can also act like a catalyst, a task mainly
done by proteins today. There are several ribozymes, catalytic RNAs, that have been
discovered, and peptide bond formation in the ribosome is carried out by an RNAderived ribozyme. From this perspective, retroviruses and ribozymes are remnants, or
molecular fossils, left over from that RNA world. Assuming that DNA is better suited
for storage of genetic information and proteins are better suited for the catalytic needs
of cells, one would expect reduced use of RNA in cells, and greater use of DNA and
proteins.

Biological role
RNA plays several roles in biology:

Messenger RNA (mRNA) is transcribed directly (splicing in eukaryotes)

from a gene's DNA (in eukaryotes exported into the cytoplasm) and is used to
encode proteins.
RNA genes, or non-coding RNA, are genes that encode functional RNA
molecules; in contrast to mRNA, these RNA do not code for proteins. The
best-known examples of RNA genes are transfer RNA (tRNA) and
ribosomal RNA (rRNA). Both forms participate in the process of translation,
but many others exist.
RNA forms the genetic material (genomes) of some kinds of viruses.
Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is used as the genetic material of some RNA
viruses and is involved in some cellular processes, such as RNA interference.
Transfer RNA (tRNA) is a small class of RNA molecules that present specific
amino acids to the ribosome during translation, the anticodon of the tRNA
pairs with the codon of the mRNA. It has a charecteristic double-helix
structure even though it has only one chain, because the single chain folds
back on itself.

Messenger RNA (mRNA)

Messenger RNA is RNA that carries information from DNA to the ribosome sites of
protein synthesis in the cell. Once mRNA has been transcribed from DNA, it is
exported from the nucleus into the cytoplasm (in eukaryotes mRNA is "processed"
before being exported), where it is bound to ribosomes and translated into protein.
After a certain amount of time the message degrades into its component nucleotides,
usually with the assistance of RNases.

Transfer RNA (tRNA)

Transfer RNA is a small RNA chain of about 74-93 nucleotides that transfers a
specific amino acid to a growing polypeptide chain at the ribosomal site of protein
synthesis during translation. It has sites for amino-acid attachment and an anticodon
region for codon recognition that binds to a specific sequence on the messenger RNA
chain. It is a type of non-coding RNA.

Non-coding RNA or "RNA genes"

RNA genes (sometimes referred to as non-coding RNA or small RNA) are genes that
encode RNA that is not translated into a protein. The most prominent examples of
RNA genes are transfer RNA (tRNA) and ribosomal RNA (rRNA), both of which are
involved in the process of translation. However, since the late 1990s, many new RNA
genes have been found, and thus RNA genes may play a much more significant role
than previously thought.
In the late 1990s and early 2000, there has been persistent evidence of more complex
transcription occurring in mammalian cells (and possibly others). This could point
towards a more widespread use of RNA in biology, particularly in gene regulation. A
particular class of non-coding RNA, micro RNA, has been found in many metazoans
(from Caenorhabditis elegans to Homo sapiens) and clearly plays an important role in
regulating other genes.

Double-stranded RNA
Double-stranded RNA (or dsRNA) is RNA with two complementary strands, similar
to the DNA found in all "higher" cells. dsRNA forms the genetic material of some
viruses. In eukaryotes, it may play a role in the process of RNA interference and in
microRNAs.