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Post-Transcriptional Modification

Meaning

Post-Transcriptional Modification is a crucial biological process that occurs in eukaryotic cells, involving the complex alteration of the newly synthesized messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule before it is translated into a functional protein. This modification is essential for gene expression regulation, significantly increasing the complexity and diversity of the protein repertoire that can be generated from a single gene. Key steps include the addition of a 5′ cap and a poly-A tail, as well as the precise splicing out of non-coding introns to create the mature, functional mRNA transcript. This process allows for alternative splicing, a powerful mechanism for producing tissue-specific protein variants.