Question

What is signal transduction?

Answer 1

Signal transduction refers to the transmission of a molecular signal in the form of a chemical modification.

Explanation:

Signal transduction involves movement of protein complexes along a signalling pathway. It occurs when an extra cellular signalling molecule activates a specific receptor located on the surface of the cell. This receptor triggers a biochemical chain of events inside the cell, that eventually elicits a response. This is called as a signalling cascade.

Depending upon the cell, the response may alter the cells metabolism, shap,gene expression or ability to divide. The signal can be amplified at any step, thus one signalling molecule can generate a response involving hundreds to millions of molecules.