Posttranscriptional Processing

Angela Kaye Hodges, University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff, UK

Published online: September 2005

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0005287

Messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is an intermediate template in the process of protein production from a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) template. It offers the cell the means to control the production and destination of proteins in a complex, timely and transient way, and increases greatly the potential variation of protein isoforms. The number of molecules of any one mRNA species in a mammalian cell can vary from less than 1 to as many as 10000. In human cells, an average of about six copies of each mRNA are present per cell.

Keywords: mRNA splicing; mRNA alternative splicing; mRNA editing; mRNA stability; mRNA transport; alternative polyadenylation site usage

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Related Sub-Topics:

Basic Cell Biology, Protein, RNA and DNA | Translational Regulation | RNA Structure and Function | Posttranscriptional Modification | Biomolecular Interactions | Proteins: Structure, Function, Metabolism | Nucleic Acids: Structure, Function, Metabolism | Molecular Transport
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Article Title: Posttranscriptional Processing
 
How to Cite close
Hodges, Angela Kaye(Sep 2005) Posttranscriptional Processing. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0005287]