In biology, translation is the process by which ribosomes synthesize proteins by reading mRNA (messenger RNA) sequences and linking together the corresponding amino acids in a specific order. This process occurs in the cytoplasm and involves several key components:
- mRNA: Serves as the template that carries the genetic information from DNA to the ribosomes.
- Ribosomes: The cellular machinery that reads the mRNA and facilitates the assembly of amino acids into a polypeptide chain.
- tRNA (transfer RNA): Adaptor molecules that bring the appropriate amino acids to the ribosome by matching their anticodon with the codon on the mRNA.
- Amino Acids: The building blocks of proteins, which are linked together by peptide bonds to form a polypeptide chain.
The product of translation is a polypeptide chain, which may undergo further folding and modifications to become a functional protein. The specific sequence of amino acids in the resulting protein determines its structure and function within the organism.