What is the process called that converts the genetic code contained in mRNA to produce the sequence of amino acids?

What is the process called that converts the genetic code contained in mRNA to produce the sequence of amino acids?

updated: October 11, 2022

Definition

Translation, as related to genomics, is the process through which information encoded in messenger RNA (mRNA) directs the addition of amino acids during protein synthesis. Translation takes place on ribosomes in the cell cytoplasm, where mRNA is read and translated into the string of amino acid chains that make up the synthesized protein.

What is the process called that converts the genetic code contained in mRNA to produce the sequence of amino acids?

Narration

Translation. Translation is, perhaps, the single most important event in biology because what protein is translated versus what isn't translated makes the difference between your body building a heart versus lungs.

What is the process called that converts the genetic code contained in mRNA to produce the sequence of amino acids?

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Most genes contain the information needed to make functional molecules called proteins. (A few genes produce regulatory molecules that help the cell assemble proteins.) The journey from gene to protein is complex and tightly controlled within each cell. It consists of two major steps: transcription and translation. Together, transcription and translation are known as gene expression.

During the process of transcription, the information stored in a gene's DNA is passed to a similar molecule called RNA (ribonucleic acid) in the cell nucleus. Both RNA and DNA are made up of a chain of building blocks called nucleotides, but they have slightly different chemical properties. The type of RNA that contains the information for making a protein is called messenger RNA (mRNA) because it carries the information, or message, from the DNA out of the nucleus into the cytoplasm.

Translation, the second step in getting from a gene to a protein, takes place in the cytoplasm. The mRNA interacts with a specialized complex called a ribosome, which "reads" the sequence of mRNA nucleotides. Each sequence of three nucleotides, called a codon, usually codes for one particular amino acid. (Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.) A type of RNA called transfer RNA (tRNA) assembles the protein, one amino acid at a time. Protein assembly continues until the ribosome encounters a “stop” codon (a sequence of three nucleotides that does not code for an amino acid).

The flow of information from DNA to RNA to proteins is one of the fundamental principles of molecular biology. It is so important that it is sometimes called the “central dogma.”

Translation: Messenger RNA Translated Into Protein


Created by George Rice, Montana State University


What is the process called that converts the genetic code contained in mRNA to produce the sequence of amino acids?

Translation is the process that takes the information passed from DNA as messenger RNA and turns it into a series of amino acids bound together with peptide bonds. It is essentially a translation from one code (nucleotide sequence) to another code (amino acid sequence). The ribosome is the site of this action, just as RNA polymerase was the site of mRNA synthesis. The ribosome matches the base sequence on the mRNA in sets of three bases (called codons) to tRNA molecules that have the three complementary bases in their anticodon regions. Again, the base-pairing rule is important in this recognition (A binds to U and C binds to G). The ribosome moves along the mRNA, matching 3 base pairs at a time and adding the amino acids to the polypeptide chain. When the ribosome reaches one of the "stop" codes, the ribosome releases both the polypeptide and the mRNA. This polypeptide will twist into its native conformation and begin to act as a protein in the cells metabolism.

(from Biology 101, link http://edtech.clas.pdx.edu/gene_expression_tutorial/translation.html, John Rueter 11/25/96) 


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RNA and protein synthesis

How is the information in an mRNA sequence decoded to make a polypeptide? Learn how groups of three nucleotides, called codons, specify amino acids (as well as start and stop signals for translation).

RNA and protein synthesis

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What is the process that converts mRNA into an amino acid sequence?

The process of converting the mRNA 'message' into a sequence of amino acids is known as translation. The mRNA is decoded during the process of translation in which the ribosomes in the cytoplasm or the endoplasmic reticulum synthesizes the proteins in the cell's nucleus after the process of transcription of DNA to RNA.

Which process converts the genetic code to amino acids?

Translation, then, is one stage in the process in which the cell's genetic information is used to create proteins. The cell's DNA is first transcribed in a temporary copy (mRNA), which is then translated into the amino acid sequence of a protein.

What is the name of the process that converts DNA into mRNA?

In the first step, the information in DNA is transferred to a messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule by way of a process called transcription.

What is the process called when mRNA is converted into a protein?

Translation is the process by which a protein is synthesized from the information contained in a molecule of messenger RNA (mRNA).