Subgenomic mRNA

Subgenomic mRNA's are essentially smaller sections of the original transcribed template strand. Subgenomic mRNA's are essentially smaller sections of the original transcribed template strand. During transcription, the original template strand is usually read from the 3' to the 5' end from beginning to end. Subgenomic mRNAs are created when transcription begins at the 3' end of the template strand (or 5' of the to-be-newly synthesized template) and begins to copy towards the 5' end of the template strand before 'jumping' to the end of the template and copying the last nucleotides of the 5' end of the template, (finishing the 3' tail for the newly created strand). As a result, the translated strand will have a similar 5' end to varying degrees with the original template (depending on which part of the template the transcription jumped over) and a similar 3' end to the template.