Which of the Following is a Characteristic of a Functional

Question

Which of the following is a characteristic of a functional mRNA molecule?
A) Its 5' end has an acetylated thymine.
B) It lacks exons.
C) Its 3' end has a poly-A tail.
D) It contains introns.

Accepted Answer

The 3' end of a functional mRNA molecule contains a poly-A tail, which is a string of adenine nucleotides that help protect the mRNA from degradation and facilitate its transport out of the nucleus. Acetylated thymine is not a characteristic of functional mRNA, and functional mRNA molecules contain exons (coding regions) and lack introns (non-coding regions).