Question

Give a basic difference between mRNA and tRNA.

Answer 1

mRNA carries the genetic code required for protein synthesis. tRNA plays a role in protein synthesis by decoding a specific codon of mRNA, using its anticodon, in order to transfer a specific amino acid to the end of a chain in the ribosome. It is the smallest RNA that takes part in protein synthesis.

Complete answer:
RNA or ribonucleic acid is a polymer of nucleotides which is made up of a ribose sugar, a phosphate, and bases such as adenine, cytosine, guanine, and uracil. There are different types of RNA. The main three types of RNA are mRNA, tRNA, and rRNA.
The difference between mRNA and tRNA are given below:

mRNA	tRNA
1. The mRNA or messenger RNA is the relation between the gene and the protein and is the product of an RNA polymerase transcribed gene.	1. tRNAs are an important element in translation whose main function is the transfer of amino acids during protein synthesis.
2. mRNA transcribes the DNA genetic code into a form that can be read and used for making protein.	2. Each amino acid has its own form of tRNA that binds and transports it to the growing end of a polypeptide chain when needed by the next word code on mRNA.
3. mRNA is responsible for carrying the genetic information from the nucleus into a cell's cytoplasm.	3. During protein synthesis, every time an amino acid is attached to the growing protein, tRNA forms base pairs with its complementary sequence of mRNA molecules, ensuring that the required amino acid is incorporated into the protein.

Note: tRNA makes up about 15 percent of the overall RNA in the cell. Transfer RNA molecules have a particular stem loop shape allowing them to act as adapter molecules that bring activated amino acids to the ribosome machinery.