Definition

Describing a type of mRNA that can produce more than one protein from a single transcript.

Example

In bacteria, polycistronic mRNA allows for the simultaneous expression of several genes.

Conversation

Did you know that some mRNA can be polycistronic?

I’ve heard that term before, but I’m not sure what it means.

It means it can encode multiple proteins from a single mRNA strand.

That’s really interesting! I didn’t realize it worked that way.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Polycistronic is formed from "poly-" (meaning many) and "cistron" (derived from the Greek word "kistron", meaning a segment of DNA or RNA that codes for a single protein). The term describes a type of messenger RNA that carries the information for multiple proteins, hence 'many coding segments'.

Memory Tip

Think of 'many' ('poly-') coding segments ('cistron') in a single strand of RNA, which helps you remember that 'polycistronic' refers to RNA that can code for multiple proteins.

Visually Confused Words