Question

The RNA Sequence below contains an inverted repeat. Make a sketch of the molecule that shows the stem portion with its nucleotide pairing and the loop portion 5' ..GAGGCAAAGUUCUGCUCUGUGUAUCAGAACUUUGUACG ... 3'

Answer 1

The student is asked to identify and sketch the stem-loop (hairpin) structure in a given RNA sequence. The inverted repeats within the sequence pair to form the stem, and the intervening nucleotides form the loop.

Step-by-step explanation:

The RNA sequence provided represents a strand that may fold onto itself to form a hairpin structure due to the presence of an inverted repeat. In the given sequence '5' ..GAGGCAAAGUUCUGCUCUGUGUAUCAGAACUUUGUACG ... 3'', we can identify the nucleotides that will form the base pairs of the stem and the nucleotides that will comprise the loop.

To visualize the structure:

• First, find the inverted repeat (part of the sequence that is complementary to another part within the same molecule).
• Once identified, nucleotides in the inverted repeats (GAGGCAAAGUUC and GAACUUUGUACG) can be paired with their complementary bases (G with C and A with U, and vice versa).
• Non-paired nucleotides will form the loop region.

This stem-loop structure is important in various biological processes, including transcription termination and the regulation of gene expression.