Translation is the second stage of the central dogma, in which the ribosome reads a messenger RNA transcript 5'→3' in non-overlapping three-nucleotide codons and assembles the corresponding amino acid sequence into a polypeptide. The genetic code is defined by the 4³ = 64 possible codons mapping onto roughly 22 standard amino acids, so the code is degenerate: 61 codons specify amino acids (AUG serving as both start signal and methionine) and 3 function as stop signals; specificity is realized physically by transfer RNAs, each bearing an anticodon complementary to one codon at one end and its cognate amino acid at the other. Elongation proceeds through the ribosome's three functional sites — A (aminoacyl entry), P (peptidyl, where the growing chain resides), and E (exit) — as peptide bond formation is followed by ribosomal translocation, a cycle repeated until a stop codon releases the polypeptide. The topic belongs to molecular biology, specifically gene expression.
Translation is the second stage of the central dogma, in which the ribosome reads a messenger RNA transcript 5'→3' in non-overlapping three-nucleotide codons and assembles the corresponding amino aci…