Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The nucleus is spherical and separated from the cytoplasm by a double membrane called the nuclear envelope, space between these two membrane is called perinuclear space. The nuclear envelope isolates and protects a cell's DNA from various molecules that could accidentally damage its structure or interfere with its processing.
Efforts to understand how proteins are encoded began after DNA's structure was discovered in 1953. The key discoverers, English biophysicist Francis Crick and American biologist James Watson, working together at the Cavendish Laboratory of the University of Cambridge, hypothesied that information flows from DNA and that there is a link between DNA and proteins. [2]
In the nucleus, the nucleolus organizer regions give rise to the nucleolus, where the rDNA regions of the chromosome forms expanded chromosomal loops, accessible for transcription of rRNA. In rDNA, the tandem repeats are mostly found in the nucleolus; but heterochromatic rDNA is found outside of the nucleolus.
The relationship between the nucleotide sequences of genes and the amino-acid sequences of proteins is determined by the rules of translation, known collectively as the genetic code. The genetic code consists of three-letter 'words' called codons formed from a sequence of three nucleotides (e.g. ACT, CAG, TTT).
Diagram of the nucleus showing the ribosome-studded outer nuclear membrane, nuclear pores, DNA (complexed as chromatin), and the nucleolus. The nucleus contains nearly all of the cell's DNA, surrounded by a network of fibrous intermediate filaments called the nuclear matrix, and is enveloped in a double membrane called the nuclear envelope.
The nuclear envelope surrounds the nucleus, separating its contents from the cytoplasm.It has two membranes, each a lipid bilayer with associated proteins. [21] The outer nuclear membrane is continuous with the rough endoplasmic reticulum membrane, and like that structure, features ribosomes attached to the surface.
The ribosomes catalyze the formation of covalent peptide bonds between the encoded amino acids to form a polypeptide chain. [citation needed] Following translation the polypeptide chain must fold to form a functional protein; for example, to function as an enzyme the polypeptide chain must fold correctly to produce a functional active site.
A eukaryotic cell has a nucleus that separates the processes of transcription and translation. Eukaryotic transcription occurs within the nucleus where DNA is packaged into nucleosomes and higher order chromatin structures. The complexity of the eukaryotic genome necessitates a great variety and complexity of gene expression control.