The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines which recently announced their success use the same technology, based on messenger RNA, or mRNA.

Try this PYQ first:

Q.‘RNA interference (RNAi)’ technology has gained popularity in the last few years. Why?

1. It is used in developing gene silencing therapies.
2. It can be used in developing therapies for the treatment of cancer.
3. It can be used to develop hormone replacement therapies.
4. It can be used to produce crop plants that are resistant to viral pathogens.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1, 2 and 4

(b) 2 and 3

(c) 1 and 3

(d) 1 and 4 only

What is mRNA?

• Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a single-stranded RNA (Ribo Nucleic Acid) molecule that is complementary to one of the DNA strands of a gene.
• The mRNA is an RNA version of the gene that leaves the cell nucleus and moves to the cytoplasm where proteins are made.
• During protein synthesis, an organelle called a ribosome moves along the mRNA, reads its base sequence, and uses the genetic code to translate each three-base triplet, or codon, into its corresponding amino acid.

What is the mRNA vaccine?

• Such vaccines make use of the messenger RNA molecules that tell the body’s cells what proteins to build.
• The mRNA, in this case, is coded to tell the cells to recreate the spike protein of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19.
• It is the spike protein — which appears as spikes on the surface of the coronavirus — that initiates the process of infection; it allows the virus to penetrate cells, after which it goes on to replicate.
• A coronavirus vaccine based on mRNA, once injected into the body, will instruct the body’s cells to create copies of the spike protein.
• In turn, this is expected to prompt the immune cells to create antibodies to fight it.
• These antibodies will remain in the blood and fight the real virus if and when it infects the human body.

Back2Basics: Ribo Nucleic Acid (RNA)

• RNA is an important biological macromolecule that is present in all biological cells.
• It is principally involved in the synthesis of proteins, carrying the messenger instructions from DNA, which itself contains the genetic instructions required for the development and maintenance of life.
• In some viruses, RNA, rather than DNA, carries genetic information.
• The type of RNA dictates the function that this molecule will have within the cell.
• Aside from the coding region of messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules that will be translated into proteins, other cellular RNA elements are involved in different processes.

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