Question

Answer the following question.
Describe the structure and function of a t-RNA molecule. Why is it referred to as an adapter molecule?

Answer 1

t-RNA(transfer RNA) reads the genetic code on one hand & transfers amino acids on the other hand, so it is called an adapter molecule by Francis Crick. It is also called as soluble RNA (SRNA).

Structure of t-RNA :

The secondary structure of tRNA is clover leaf-like but the 3-D structure is inverted L-shaped. t-RNA has five arms or loops

1. Anticodon loop: Which has bases complementary to the code.
2. Amino acid acceptor end: To which amino acid binds.
3. T-loop: Which helps in binding to the ribosome.
4. D-loop: Which helps in binding aminoacyl synthetase.
5. Variable loop: No function known.