Translation

• The synthesis of proteins from mRNA template

Transfer RNAs, or tRNAs, are molecular "bridges" that connect mRNA codons to the amino acids they encode.

One end of each tRNA has a sequence of three nucleotides called an anticodon, which can bind to specific mRNA codons.

Ribosomes are the structures where polypeptides (proteins) are built. Each ribosome has two subunits, a large one and a small one, which come together around an mRNA.

Translation divides into three stages: initiation (starting off), elongation (adding on to the protein chain), and termination (finishing up).

• In initiation, the ribosome assembles around the mRNA to be read and the first tRNA

• Elongation is the stage where the amino acid chain gets longer. In elongation, the mRNA is read one codon at a time, and the amino acid matching each codon is added to a growing protein chain.

  
  

• Termination is the stage in which the finished polypeptide chain is released.