Polyadenylation

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Polyadenylation is the covalent linkage of a polyadenylyl moiety to a messenger RNA molecule. In eukaryotic organisms, polyadenylation is the mechanism by which most messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules are terminated at their 3' ends. Some prokaryotic mRNAs also are polyadenylated, although this is more rare. At the end of a gene sequence, a few base pairs, typically 200 to 250 or so, of Adenine are added. Polyadenylation aids in mRNA translation and stability. Polyadenylation is also important for transcription termination and for export of the mRNA from the nucleus.