Understanding DNA and RNA
* DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid, the genetic material in most organisms. It consists of two strands, with each strand having a backbone of sugar-phosphate units and bases attached to the sugar molecules. The bases in DNA are adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T).
* RNA: Ribonucleic acid, involved in protein synthesis. It's single-stranded and uses uracil (U) instead of thymine (T).
Base Pairing Rules
In DNA, adenine (A) pairs with thymine (T), and guanine (G) pairs with cytosine (C).
In RNA, adenine (A) pairs with uracil (U), and guanine (G) pairs with cytosine (C).
Transcription
The process of creating an mRNA molecule from a DNA template is called transcription.
Steps
1. Identify the template strand: You need to know which strand of the DNA is the template for transcription. Let's assume the given sequence "GCT AAG" is the template strand.
2. Replace bases according to pairing rules:
* G (guanine) in the DNA template pairs with C (cytosine) in RNA.
* C (cytosine) in the DNA template pairs with G (guanine) in RNA.
* T (thymine) in the DNA template pairs with A (adenine) in RNA.
* A (adenine) in the DNA template pairs with U (uracil) in RNA.
3. Write the mRNA sequence: Following the pairing rules, the mRNA sequence would be: CGA UUC
