Question

State whether the following statement is true or false.

The 5’ end of the coding segment in mRNA corresponds to the amino terminus of its nascent polypeptide chain.

Answer 1

This statement is true.

Explanation:

During translation, the ribosome reads the mRNA in the 5’ to 3’ direction. The first codon encountered at the 5’ end (usually the AUG start codon) codes for the first amino acid of the protein. Because proteins are synthesised from the amino (N) terminus to the carboxyl (C) terminus, the 5’ end of the mRNA coding sequence directly corresponds to the amino-terminal end of the resulting polypeptide chain.