Thursday, August 18, 2011
If DNA is better than RNA at storing information, what is protein better at than RNA?
If DNA is better than RNA at storing information, then in terms of cellular viability (which is what we are talking about if the topic of discussion is the development of cells as we know them), proteins are far better than RNA at carrying out specific functions in the body. For example, RNA might code for proteins, but it is proteins that catalyze the various metabolic pathways that enable the cell to survive. Furthermore, most if not all transport systems and defense mechanisms involve proteins as well. Therefore, proteins are also better at jobs that require long-term presence of molecules. What I mean by this statement is that RNA is almost exclusively single-stranded, and is readily eaten up by nucleases in the cytoplasm. Thus, they have really short half-lives and do not stick around in the cell long after they fulfill their role. However, a protein can persist for far longer than RNA can, and this makes sense given the sensitive and essential role proteins play in the cell.
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