• We will learn how in eukaryotic cells the mRNA transcript undergoes a series of enzyme-regulated modifications.

• We will learn how translation occurs at the ribosome in the cytoplasm when 1) the mRNA interacts with the rRNA of the ribosome to initiate translation at the (start) codon. The sequence of nucleotides on the mRNA is read in triplets called codons. Each codon encodes a specific amino acid, which can be deduced by using a genetic code chart. Many amino acids have more than one codon. 2) tRNA brings the correct amino acid to the correct place on the mRNA and the amino acid is transferred to the growing peptide chain. The process continues along the mRNA until a stop codon is reached. The process terminates by release of the newly synthesized peptide/protein.

• We will learn how to interpret and apply the codon/amino acid table to determine sequence of DNA that coded for a specific polypeptide, and polypeptide made from a specific sequence of DNA.

Topics:
 IST-1.N Describe the mechanisms by which genetic information flows from DNA to RNA to protein.
IST-1.O Explain how the phenotype of an organism is determined by its genotype

Science Practices:
6.E.a Predict the causes or effects of a change in, or disruption to, one or more components in a biological system based on biological concepts