Exemplar Problems

Question:

Differentiate between the following:

(a) Repetitive DNA and Satellite DNA

(b) mRNA and tRNA

(c) Template strand and Coding strand

Answer:

(a) Repetitive DNA consists of sequences repeated multiple times within the genome, often with no known function.

Satellite DNA is a type of repetitive DNA with highly repetitive sequences that are usually found near the centromere of chromosomes and have no coding function.

(b) mRNA (messenger RNA) carries the genetic information from DNA to the ribosome for protein synthesis.

tRNA (transfer RNA) is involved in protein synthesis by bringing amino acids to the ribosome and matching them with the codons on mRNA.

(c) Template strand is the DNA strand used as a template during transcription to synthesize mRNA. It has a complementary sequence to the mRNA.

Coding strand is the DNA strand with the same sequence as the mRNA (except for T instead of U). It is not used as a template during transcription.