Question

Which of following has a clover leaf shaped structure?

• A. tRNA
• B. rRNA
• C. DNA
• D. mRNA

Answer 1

The correct option is A tRNA

Transfer RNA (tRNA) have a primary, secondary, and tertiary (L-shaped) structure.

1. Primary Structure:

The primary structure is short. It contains about 73 to 93 nucleotides. Three of the nucleotides make up the anticodon. It has a CCA at the end of the structure which helps enzymes identify the tRNA molecule. All 4 bases can be methylated.

2. Secondary Structure:

The secondary structure is formed like cloverleaf structure because of four base-paired stems also called as arms. The cloverleaf contains three non-base-paired loops: D, anticodon, and TpsiC loop. The terminal CCA is not base paired. It's duplexed between the 5' segment and 3' segment.

The acceptor stem which is not a loop is the site where the enzyme amino-acyl-tRNA synthase attaches an amino acid. It is located opposite of the anticodon arm which reads the mRNA.

3. Tertiary Structure:

For the tertiary structure, it can be described as a compact of L shape. It is three dimensional. The structure is bonded and stabilized by base pairing and base stacking. Base pairs between nucleotides in the D loop and the TΨC loop. At the end of the L shape is the three base sequence called as anti-codon.

So, the correct answer is option A.