| Q: | Which of the following best describes a release factor? |
| A |
| a DNA base pairing which results in termination of an amino acid sequence |
| B |
| a specific mRNA molecule |
| C |
| a protein involved in post-translational modification of a completed protein |
| D |
| a protein which facilitates the termination of translation |
The correct answer is D. Before diving into the question, a general multiple choice test taking strategy is to look at the two similar answers, one of which is generally correct. In this case, those would be C and D. We have to remember that a release factor is a protein that terminates translation by recognizing a stop codon. A is wrong because it’s describing a stop codon. B is wrong because mRNA is just the messenger and isn’t a protein. It also wouldn’t make sense for mRNA to recognize a stop codon. C is wrong because it’s describing a post-translational process.