Question

Which of the following is called an adaptor molecule?
A. DNA
B. mRNA
C. tRNA
D. RNA

Answer 1

Hint: To derive the correct answer, you must first know the meaning of an adaptor molecule. The word adapt generally means to acclimate something that is not compatible to a particular surrounding. The adaptor molecules are special molecules that act as a link between two different systems.

Complete answer:
Let us look at each of the molecules mentioned above and see their properties to arrive at the correct answer.
1. DNA-It is simply deoxyribonucleic acid that acts as a carrier of genetic information. It has the sole purpose of carrying genetic information and thus does not have any adapting function.
2. mrna-They play a vital role of protein synthesis. They carry genetic code from DNA that is present in the nucleus of the cell to the ribosome where the protein synthesis actually occurs.
3. trna-They also play an important role in protein synthesis. It helps to decode the messenger RNA sequence into a protein.
4. RNA-It is an important macromolecule that is present during the functions of coding,decoding and the regulation and the expression of genes.
The tRNA is also known as the adaptor molecule because it binds to both the RNA and the amino acids.

Thus, the correct option is C tRNA.

Note:
There is a famous hypothesis known as the RNA world hypothesis that believes that RNA was the first genetic material. This was believed because of its ability to act both as an enzyme and its ability to carry out replication. However later the place of RNA was taken by DNA where DNA was now the sole genetic information carrier as RNA was less stable in certain conditions.