Why is rna versatile

Changing the bases will change both the molecule's shape and its function. It is this flexibility that makes RNA such a versatile molecule. The contents provided here are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIH.

Structure Leads To Function. APA format:. Scientists estimate that human cells have more than different tRNAs. Despite their small size, these RNAs have a huge impact on controlling the patterns of gene activity in our cells. Small interfering RNA, or siRNA , is a piece of RNA that the cell snips from an invading virus or other threat and then uses to seek out and destroy the potentially deadly intruder.

Because of their ability to target and inactivate specific segments of RNA, siRNAs have also become a powerful research tool for learning more about how genes function. Scientists have uncovered hundreds of miRNAs in humans, and they estimate that miRNAs regulate more than half of our protein-coding genes. Long intervening noncoding RNA, or lincRNA , appears to function as a scaffold for coordinating the activities of proteins that regulate gene activities.

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