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Which of the following is characteristic of transcription in eukaryotes but not in prokaryotes?

a. A 3' untranslated trailer sequence
b. a single transcript may be transcribed and translated simultaneously
c. exon splicing
d. a 5' untranslated leader sequence

User Ethaan
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

Eukaryotes have exon splicing, untranslated leader and trailer sequences, and co-transcriptional translation, whereas prokaryotes lack these features.

Step-by-step explanation:

Eukaryotes have several characteristics of transcription that are not found in prokaryotes. One characteristic is exon splicing, which is the process of removing introns from the primary transcript to produce a mature mRNA molecule. This allows eukaryotic cells to generate multiple protein isoforms from a single gene. Prokaryotes do not have introns and therefore do not perform exon splicing.

Another characteristic is the presence of a 5' untranslated leader sequence and a 3' untranslated trailer sequence in eukaryotic transcripts. These sequences play important roles in mRNA stability, transport, and translation regulation. Prokaryotes typically do not have untranslated regions at the ends of their transcripts.

Lastly, eukaryotes can transcribe and translate a single transcript simultaneously. This is known as co-transcriptional translation and is made possible by the nuclear compartmentalization of transcription and translation processes. In prokaryotes, transcription and translation can occur concurrently because they lack a nuclear membrane.

User Kevin Lamb
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