Modeling Protein Synthesis

Hugh Franklin

Equipment• 42 tooth picks representing the bonds

between the chemicals• 18 milk bottle lollies cut in half (36 halves)

representing sugar• 18 raspberry lollies (36 halves) representing

phosphate units• 25 jelly beans halved (5 each of 5 colours)

representing bases• 4 different jelly snakes 6cm long

representing amino acids• A4 white paper representing a cell• Coloured paper circle, 6cm diameter,

representing a ribosome• Clean sharp knife • Cutting board• Gloves• Scissors• Marking pen• Heinemann Biology textbook

Step 1• First a DNA double helix is created using lollies

• Nucleotides of sugar, phosphate and nitrogenous bases are collected to make a ladder.

• Sides of the ladder are sugar, phosphate placed alternately with bases as the rungs.

• These bases are coupled:Adenosine/Thymine Guanine/Cytosine

• Bases (adenosine, thymine, cytosine and guanine) connect each side of the ladder from sugars in their pairs.

Step 2

• One gene from the DNA unravels within the nucleus.

Step 3• An enzyme of RNA polymerase

follows the remaining DNA strand and creates a partner side of RNA. This RNA strand will be identical to the original strand except that a base named uracil replaces the thymine found it DNA.

Step 4• The mRNA strand is modified to become many

strands of tRNA. Which is named transfer RNA, it helps to translate the nucleic message of bases to help carry amino acids to a ribosome for production. Each different tRNA carries one type of amino acid.

Step 5

• These modified RNA strands carry amino acids from the nucleus into the cytoplasm and to a ribosome.

Step 6

• When the tRNA reaches the ribosome, individual strands of amino acids are connected with help from the ribosome.

Step 7• This forms a polypeptide

chain, when a code to STOP linking amino acids is reached this chain is released into the cytoplasm. Many of these chains may then go on to be linked to form a protein. Specific shape is vital for a specific function.