gen-define-translation-of-mrna-and-give-one-short-worked-example-19fa

Define translation of mRNA and give one short worked example.

# Translation of mRNA **Definition:** Translation is the process by which the nucleotide sequence of mRNA is decoded to produce a specific polypeptide (protein) chain. This occurs at ribosomes, where tRNA molecules bring amino acids that correspond to each three-nucleotide codon on the mRNA template. ## Key Components: - **mRNA** - carries genetic code from DNA - **Ribosome** - site where translation occurs - **tRNA** - adaptor molecule that brings amino acids - **Codons** - three-nucleotide sequences on mRNA - **Anticodons** - complementary sequences on tRNA --- ## Worked Example **Given mRNA sequence:** 5' - AUG GCU UGG UAA - 3' **Step-by-step translation:** 1. **AUG** → Methionine (Met) - *start codon* 2. **GCU** → Alanine (Ala) 3. **UGG** → Tryptophan (Trp) 4. **UAA** → STOP - *stop codon* **Resulting polypeptide:** Met-Ala-Trp **Note:** The ribosome begins at the start codon (AUG), reads each codon sequentially, and terminates when it reaches a stop codon (UAA, UAG, or UGA). The final protein would be just 3 amino acids long in this example.