Molecule Tutorials - Herong's Tutorial Examples - v1.26, by Herong Yang
Genetic Translation - Creating Protein
This section provides a quick introduction of the Genetic Translation process, which is the process of translating the nucleotide sequence of a mRNA (Messenger RNA) into the amino acid sequence linked with peptide bonds to build a new protein according to the genome codon map chart.
What Is Genetic Translation? - Genetic Translation is the process of translating the nucleotide sequence of a mRNA (Messenger RNA) into the amino acid sequence linked with peptide bonds to build a new protein according to the genome codon map chart. Translation is the last step in the expression process from gene to protein.
The genetic Translation process can also be divided into 3 phases, initiation, elongation and termination.
1. Initiation Phase - During the initiation phase, a special enzyme called Ribosome attaches to the 5' end of a mRNA, It scans the mRNA towards the 3' end of the mRNA until it encounters the START codon (AUG or GUG or UUG). It then synthesizes the first amino acid, usually a Methionine (Met or M) to start a new protein.
2. Elongation Phase - During the Elongation phase, the Ribosome continues to scan codons on the mRNA sequentially, one by one. For each new codon, it finds and binds to a complementary tRNA (Transfer RNA) with a mapped amino acid attached. The attached amino acid will be transferred to the end of the new protein.
3. Termination Phase - When the Ribosome reaches the STOP codon of the mRNA, it will stop the Translation process, release the newly created protein and dissociate itself from the mRNA.
The picture (source: genome.gov) below illustrates the Genetic Translation process:
Note than the Ribosome is a faster worker. It can adds an amino acid to the protein at least every 0.05 seconds, about 20 amino acid per second.
Also note that, a single mRNA can be used repeatedly by many Ribosomes to build many identical proteins.
Table of Contents
Molecule Names and Identifications
Nucleobase, Nucleoside, Nucleotide, DNA and RNA
Gene Expression - Building Proteins
Genetic Transcription - Creating mRNA
►Genetic Translation - Creating Protein
DNA Gene Sequence - Exons and Introns
Chromosome Replication (or DNA Replication)
ChEMBL Database - European Molecular Biology Laboratory
PubChem Database - National Library of Medicine
INSDC (International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration)
HGNC (HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee)