Which of the following experimental procedures is most likely to hasten mRNA degradation in a eukaryotic cell?

Question

a methylation of C nucleotides

b enzymatic shortening of the poly(A) tail

c removal of the 5' cap

d removal of one or more exons

e methylation of histones

Answer 1

b.  the poly-A tail protects mRNA from degradation.  In fact, your cells help control how much of a product is made by altering the length of the poly-A tail.

You could also try c. Removing the cytosine cap would also make the mRNA susceptible to degradation.