RNA polymerase is an enzyme that transcribes DNA into RNA, creating different types of RNA such as rRNA, mRNA, and tRNA. It corrects errors and is vulnerable to toxins. Without it, genetic information cannot be copied and encoded correctly.
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) contains all the genetic information that every living thing needs to grow and survive. The detailed information contained in the molecule is transported into cells via ribonucleic acid (RNA). There are several types of RNA, but they all need to be transcribed by an enzyme called RNA polymerase. Once it surrounds the DNA structure, the enzyme unwinds the double helix structure and makes copies of the genetic information. Polymerase is a complex structure called a holoenzyme and performs functions such as unwinding DNA, recombining the two parts at the end of the process, copying genes and correcting errors in between.
Single-celled organisms like bacteria have a form of RNA polymerase. Multicellular organisms, from yeast to humans, have three types. The first type transcribes ribosomal RNA (rRNA), which contains all the information to make proteins in a cell’s ribosome. Messenger RNA (mRNA), for building proteins needed for different cellular functions, is created from the genetic material processed by RNA polymerase II. The third polymerase is responsible for transferring RNA (tRNA), a molecule that adds amino acids to chains of proteins called polypeptides.
Without RNA polymerase, the information encoded in DNA could not be copied and encoded correctly. The enzyme creates each of the many different types of ribonucleic acid in the body as it travels along the DNA molecule. It starts transcription by binding to a structure called a promoter, where a gene starts. Promoters are DNA sequences that allow an enzyme to bind to a gene and get activated. When copying begins, the transcript initially elongates to knock out the promoter gene so the enzyme can continue.
Thousands of nucleotides make up each gene, so RNA polymerase is also built to detect and correct errors. The enzyme removes the wrong nucleotides as it travels and adds the correct ones as well. It can slow down and even stop to make corrections if the proteins aren’t matched the way they should.
The structure and function of RNA polymerase is vulnerable to various toxins. Some fungal poisons block the movement of the enzyme and cause it to stop working. This can kill a person in a matter of days, as every function of the body depends on a process resulting from the coherent coding of RNA. Every living organism contains RNA polymerase, which serves the same purpose regardless of the similarities and differences between individual cells.
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