Transcription and Translation · USMLE Step 1

In prokaryotes, what feature of their mRNA allows expression of multiple proteins from a single transcript?

  1. Polyadenylation
  2. Alternative splicing
  3. Polycistronic mRNA
  4. 5′ capping
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Correct answer: Polycistronic mRNA

Prokaryotic mRNAs are often polycistronic — a single mRNA carries coding sequences for multiple genes, enabling synthesis of several proteins from one transcript.

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