This question asks to identify the correct model of protein synthesis, which involves two main processes: transcription and translation.
Step 1: Recall the central dogma of molecular biology.
The central dogma describes the flow of genetic information in cells:
- Transcription: DNA is used as a template to synthesize messenger RNA (mRNA). During this process, DNA's thymine (T) pairs with mRNA's adenine (A), DNA's adenine (A) pairs with mRNA's uracil (U), and cytosine (C) pairs with guanine (G).
- Translation: mRNA carries the genetic code to ribosomes, where it is read in three-nucleotide units called codons. Each codon specifies a particular amino acid, and these amino acids are linked together to form a polypeptide chain (protein).
Step 2: Evaluate Option A.
- It starts with "amino acid" as the template, which is incorrect. DNA is the template for transcription.
- It labels the process from "amino acid" to "mRNA" as "transcription," which is incorrect.
- It labels the product of translation as "DNA (Met Ile Ser)," which is incorrect. Translation produces amino acid chains (proteins), not DNA.
Step 3: Evaluate Option B.
- It starts with "DNA" (TACTAGAGC) as the template, which is correct.
- It labels the process from DNA to mRNA (AUGAUCUCG) as "transcription," which is correct. Let's check the base pairing:
- DNA: T A C T A G A G C
- mRNA: A U G A U C U C G
The base pairing is correct (T → A, A → U, C → G, G → C).
- It labels the process from mRNA to "amino acid (Met Ile Ser)" as "translation," which is correct. Let's check the codons:
- AUG (mRNA) codes for Methionine (Met).
- AUC (mRNA) codes for Isoleucine (Ile).
- UCG (mRNA) codes for Serine (Ser).
The amino acid sequence is correctly derived from the mRNA codons.
- The final product is labeled as "amino acid," representing the polypeptide chain, which is correct.
This option correctly depicts all molecules and processes.
Step 4: Evaluate Option C.
- It starts with "mRNA" as the template for transcription, which is incorrect. DNA is the template.
- The template sequence contains T, which is found in DNA, not mRNA.
- It labels the product of transcription as "DNA," but the sequence contains U, which is found in RNA, not DNA.
Step 5: Evaluate Option D.
- It labels the process from DNA to mRNA as "translation," which is incorrect. This process is transcription.
- It labels the process from mRNA to amino acids as "transcription," which is incorrect. This process is translation.
Based on the analysis, Option B is the only model that correctly labels the molecules and processes of protein synthesis.
The final answer is B
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