Genome, Blueprints for Protein

2000/06/27 Roa Zubia, Guillermo - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Genetika

With the plans of the house in hand, you cannot live. The house must be finished with roof. Genetics researchers know this. However, they have mentioned a thousand genome applications to gain advertising competition. Let's think.

The genome is a set of genes. Planes are the information needed to make the gene protein. A gene, a protein. This is one of the basic definitions of genetics. But proteins work.

The genome is stored in the nucleus of the cells. A complex mechanism reads the information and makes the protein needed by an organelle called ribosome. To do this, read the amino acid sequence needed to form proteins in DNA. Amino acids take them one by one and bind them until they release formed proteins.

Each protein has a specific role. One breaks glucose in two, another carries oxygen in the blood, another fulfills the function of hormone, another makes muscles, etc. All chemical processes performed in the body are made by proteins, including those of the immune system.

If some proteins do not have a correct structure, a disease occurs because their function cannot be assumed by other people. This may be due to poor writing of the information plans. Then we have a genetic disease. If that gene is somehow altered (there is mutation), the error will be picked up by the descendants and will develop the desire.

Yesterday a reading of plans was announced (and not complete). But with this plane you cannot know the role of each protein. Proteins naturally bend during their formation. Even knowing the amino acid sequence, we do not know exactly how it will fold, because there are many combinations and only one is valid. A topic that has been researching for some time and that in the field of biochemistry is one of the biggest challenges of today. Proteins should be tested one by one while not known. Therefore, much remains to be done to clarify the behavior of each protein.