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The 5-prime end is immediately capped off with a modified form of a guanine (G) nucleotide. This 5-prime cap has at least two important functions: protect the mRNA from degradation by hydrolytic enzymes and act as an "attach here" sign for ribosomes. The 3-prime end gains a poly(A) tail consisting of 30 to 200 adenine nucleotides, which also inhibits degradation of the RNA and helps ribosomes attach to it. The poly(A) tail also seems to facilitate the export of mRNA from the nucleus.

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15y ago

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