Importance of Translation in Protein Synthesis

Translation is very important in the process of making proteins. Without transcription and translation, your body would have no possible way to make proteins, or function. Proteins allow your body to do everything. Muscle proteins allow your muscles to strengthen and grow. Antibodies protect the body from germs. Some proteins support body structures, whereas others help with your body’s movements. There are thousands of functions for different proteins.

First, part of the DNA unwinds in the nucleus. RNA polymerase binds to the promoter (T-A-T-A) (“start”) region on the DNA strand. RNA polymerase unzips the DNA strand and makes pre-mRNA by joining RNA bases to DNA. The RNA polymerase reaches the “stop” region and pre-mRNA is released from the DNA. Pre-mRNA removes introns, or unwanted mRNA, to make mRNA. Then, it exits the nucleus into the cytoplasm.

The process of translation begins by the mRNA attaching to the ribosome at the AUG codon. From there, the ribosome “decodes” the codon and brings in the first loaded tRNA, as it finishes decoding the next codon; it brings in the second loaded tRNA. The first tRNA unloads the amino acid to the second tRNA and then unbinds from mRNA. This results in a chain of amino acids, protein, and the cycle continues until the stop codon is reached.

The importance of each step of translation is very great. Many things could change and be highly affective to the process, or if the process changed, the effect of this could be very devastating. Through transcription, the DNA is copied and readied to make the proteins. The first step of translation is when the messenger RNA (mRNA) attaches to the ribosome at the AUG codon. The AUG codon is the codon that signals “start” and so it begins to attach here. Without this signal, the mRNA would not attach to the ribosome and no proteins would be able to be made. This is the type of organism that is able to transfer these codes into amino acids. The ribosome decodes the codons and brings in loaded transfer RNA (tRNA). This step is essential because tRNA brings in the codon to the “mate”. Without this step, the codons would never be able to make proteins/amino acids. RNA is a single strand of codes, whereas DNA is two strands of “codes” and proteins, like DNA, must have a mate. The ribosome decodes the next codon and brings in loaded tRNA. The first tRNA finishes unloading the amino acid and detaches from the mRNA to go and get loaded again, continuing the cycle. These steps are important to translation because this is how proteins are bound, through a series of amino acids combined in a chain. Without this process, and each step unloading amino acids on the mRNA to make combinations of amino acids, or chains, then proteins would only be able to be produced artificially, if at all. Your body could completely shut down and not be able to move or be able to speak, or function in any way.

Protein combinations, not visible to the naked eye, are essential to life on earth. Without this process of protein synthesis, or, the making of proteins through translation and transcription, life would be nothing like it is today.

FrankenFood? GM Salmon

Is the food you are eating safe for yourself or your environment? Has it been altered or is it natural? Salmon is one of many foods that have been genetically modified through changes in DNA, RNA, or proteins. Through scientific research, and lots of reviewing by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), the debate continues as to whether or not GM Salmon (genetically modified salmon) is truly safe, or needed in our environment.

There is great controversy as scientists have altered the DNA of salmon in order to allow for quicker maturing, and nearly twice the size of the original, unaltered wild salmon. Wild salmon can take up to three years to mature and are not very large in size. Scientists have genetically altered their DNA makeup to speed up this process of maturing and have changed them so that they can become twice as large, allowing for more harvests and more meat to be harvested from each generation of salmon.

Scientists modified the salmon by adding a growth hormone (from a Pacific Chinook salmon) and a promoter (from an Ocean Pout). This has changed the growth rate from three years, or 36 months, to 16-18 months, cutting the growth rate time in half. AquaAdvantage, a company that uses genetically modified salmon to sell in large quantity for the markets keeps the GM salmon separate from the natural, wild fish in order to keep from affecting any other species of fish, or predators. They do this in order to keep the food chain normal, and not alter the wild fish at all. Also, having the GM salmon in a separate place allows for ways to prevent any disasters from being spread to the other fish populations. Also, by keeping these salmon separated in net pens, AquaAdvantage can inform the public that the fish has been modified, so that they know that there is an alteration inside of the fish product.

According to FDA (Food and Drug Administration), the salmon is safe for consumption and safe to the environment, not able to see any problems with allowing the fish to be sold to populations of people for consumption. However, they have not fully approved this GM salmon to be on the market because of the need for further research. If approved, the salmon will be the first genetically modified animal in the U.S. to be approved as a food source.

GM Product Techniques

There are many genetically modified products that many people have no idea even exist. This can be anything that contains genes, or DNA material, that was inherited from its “parents”. These products can include food, plants, and animals. Scientists are able to modify the products by changing and altering the genetic makeup of the organism.

Genes and DNA are how an organism was compiled together and “created”. They are the unstructions and building blocks of the organism. Once the DNA is decoded, proteins are made with these “instructions” and then travel to the correct area within the organism in order to keep the body functioning properly. Genetically modifying an organism can be very dangerous if scientists randomly combine or mutate genes. Although scientists did at one time allow this process to be completely random, they have discovered ways to give organisms specific traits by giving the organism DNA with the desired trait(s). When scientists allowed GM products randomly modified, they had to do so with similar species, however, more specific changes can be done with different types of organisms.

Some techniques used to transfer different organisms’ cells into another organism include bacterial carriers, biolistic, electroporation, gene splicing, gene silencing, microinjection, and viral carriers.

·         Bacterial Carriers are an effective way of injecting new DNA into an organism because the bacterium, “Agrobacterium” can infect plants. This is an effective way to insert new genes or traits into a plant organism because it will infect the plant and transfer this DNA throughout the organism (plants).

·         Biolistic allow the DNA to be attached to microscopic particles of gold or tungsten and are then “fired” into the desired cells using pressurized gas.

·         Electroporation allows a shock of electricity to tear a small part of the cells wall and allow the desired genetics to make their way into the nuclei of each of the desired cells. Then these cells go into a healing mode to close the new genes inside and are soon put back into the desired organism.

·         Gene silencing is used to “silence”, or get rid of unwanted traits or characteristics. The gene can be silenced by having a second copy the wrong way or to insert foreign DNA in order to de-activate the unwanted gene/trait.

·         Gene splicing is when you place DNA in the organism and they are designed specifically to work with the bacteria that cuts the DNA up, causing the section cut off from the DNA to be “sticky” and attach or paste itself to the desired DNA. After this, other enzymes are used to fuse the genetics together to make one, and fuse the new gene sequences into the chromosome.

·         Microinjection is a method used to inject desired traits into the egg within the female before it attaches to the uterus and this allows the desired genes to be in nearly all cells/parts of the new organism.

·         Viral carriers allow the desired DNA to be put into the genetic makeup of a virus before being put into the organism to infect the targeted cells. This is often done in ways that it does not harm the “infected” cells or cause death.

Genetic modification is all around today. Many crops have been genetically modified in order to handle toxins used to keep bugs from getting them and other types of toxins used within the fields. Other types of foods have been altered in order to increase the shelf life or to remove factors from items that people may be allergic to, such as peanuts in peanut butter. Other organisms have been genetically modified in order to be “safer” for organisms, to get rid of unwanted traits or characteristics and other reasons, depending on the organism and purpose in the environment.

Benefits could include the organism surviving better within specific climates, or being healthier for people. Some downsides of modifying some of the organisms include the fact that nature is usually best left unaltered, it could ruin the taste of the product, or can become much less healthy to be around or to consume.