Translation
Translation is the process of translating the mRNA molecule to a sequence of amino acids during protein synthesis.
- The genetic code describes the relationship between the sequence of base pairs in a gene and corresponding amino acid sequences it encodes.
- In the cell cytoplasm, the ribosome reads the sequences of mRNA in groups of three bases to assemble the protein.
- The groups of three bases are called 'codons'.
It's much like the human language - but all the words are the same length - they're all three words long.
- The reader is the ribosome, a massive enzyme that travels along the mRNA and reads the triplets.
- It reads along, detects the letters underneath it, and when it detects what those letters are, it decides what the amino acid is supposed to be.
- Then, it adds to the growing amino acid chain - the polypeptide chain - to become a protein.
- Those mRNA letters are called a codon, and each codon codes for a different amino acids.
- Eventually, all those amino acids are joined together to assemble a protein.