Protein Synthesis Lab



To create a protein, there are two main steps: transcription and translation. During transcription, the DNA code, the gene, gets copied in the nucleus, which is know as the messenger RNA (mRNA). This changes the pyrimidine, thymine, to uracil. The product travels to the cytoplasm. The next step is translation, which uses the copy to make a protein. The ribosome reads the mRNA three bases at a time and turns it into an amino acid sequence, or a codon. It results in a long chain of amino acids, which twist and folds up to become a protein.

When making a protein, there's a lot that could go wrong, maybe a mutation. A mutation is a change in the gene. There are a few types of mutations, such as point mutation. Under that category, there are two types of point mutations: substitution and frameshift mutation (which also has two types of mutations: insertion and deletion). When a mutation is added into the sequence, it could either harmless or very harmful. I thought that deletion was the mutation that harmed the protein the most. It could change the entire sequence, depending if it is located in the beginning to middle of the gene, and the length of the protein. I think substitution is the least harmful. It doesn't effect the rest of the sequence after it is added into the mix. If a T was added or subtracted, then it would effect the protein a lot.

For the last step, I chose the mutation, deletion. In the steps before, it showed the best result for the most effected. I decide to delete one of the bases from the DNA molecule in the beginnning so it would shift the entire sequence. My amino acid sequence contained only has the codon, Met. After the first three bases, it had the codon that ends the sequence, shortening the length of the protein.

Mutations could change your life drastically whether it is positive or negative. An example of a mutation is Uner Tan Syndrome. This genetic disease can affect human ability to walk on two legs, but instead, make them crawl on all fours (hand and feet), which impacted the people of Turkey. The disease was discovered in 1917 by a Turkish scientist, Uner Tan. He states it is like reverse evolution: the people with UTS can only communicate with sounds, move on all fours, have a slower reaction time, and are mentally damaged. Some patients have the ability to stand, while others can't.

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