What is translation in biology? After transcription, it is the second part of the central dogma of molecular biology, which describes the use of the genetic code for the production of amino acid chains.

what is translation in biology

Translation and RNA molecules

Three major molecular classes of ribonucleic acid (RNA) are involved in the expression of genes that are encoded in the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of the cell. It:

  • information RNA (mRNA)
  • portable RNA (tRNA)
  • ribosomal RNA (rRNA)

During translation, the first two kinds of RNA play a special role.

The principle of translation

In biology, translation is a complexprocess, during which the protein is synthesized from the information contained in the RNA molecule (mRNA). The sequence of mRNA is read using a genetic code. The translation itself occurs in a structure called the ribosome, which is a kind of factory for the synthesis of proteins. This cell organelle has small and large subunits and is a complex molecule consisting of several ribosomal RNA molecules, as well as a number of proteins.

definition of translation in biology

What is translation in biology?

Translation is the second step aftertranscription. During these processes, the genetic code is converted into amino acids that are linked together by peptide bonds. Chains of amino acids are called polypeptides and are located inside the ribosomes, tiny organelle cells that play an important role in the process of protein synthesis. The following definition can be given: translation in biology is a cellular process in which chains of amino acids are formed by decoding. The synthesis of protein occurs in the cytoplasm, where the ribosomes are located.

What is translation in biology and how toIs the assembly of the polypeptide going on? There are three important steps - initiation, elongation and termination. The same terms are also used in transcription to describe the stages of creating an RNA chain.

The zero phase is considered to be activation, when the requiredthe amino acid covalently binds to a suitable RNA (tRNA) and becomes "charged". Although this is not technically a stage of broadcasting, this step is just as necessary as all subsequent ones. So, let's consider the stages of translation in biology in more detail:

  1. Initiation. At this stage, mRNA is attached to tRNA, which is attached to said amino acid. All together, they combine in a ribosome.
  2. Elongation. This is the relative elongation by the addition of amino acids, accompanied by the formation of peptide bonds. Ultimately, a polypeptide is created. The process of addition continues again and again until the chain reaches its limit, and this is about a hundred amino acids.
  3. Termination. When the signal for the completion of biosynthesis is obtained, the polypeptide is separated from the ribosome. When a new protein is released, the entire translation complex breaks up.

stages of translation biology

A complex and precise process

What is translation in biology? This is a very complex and simultaneously surprisingly harmonious and precise process, which includes many components. All movements, reactions and other manipulations are perfectly coordinated. The transformation of genes into proteins essentially takes place in two stages: transcription and translation. Despite the fact that during the first no synthesis of protein does not occur, without it, the second is not possible.

Translation is the final stage of implementationinformation at the gene level. This process can only take place in living cells and it is much more complicated than the previous matrix synthesis of replication and transcription. All kinds of RNA, twenty kinds of amino acids, various enzymes and so on take part in the translation. The dominant center of all events is a cellular organelle, like a ribosome.

The surprising fact is the coherence of the workall interacting elements of protein biosynthesis: the specificity of many enzymes is directed toward mutual recognition at the molecular level. Even accidentally detected malfunctions and errors are instantly eliminated by those enzymes that, in principle, do not answer for them.

principle of translation biology

Beneficial cooperation

As the cellular ribosomes move forwardalong the information RNA, its starting site is gradually released, to which another ribosome joins. And the number of such organelles, working simultaneously on one molecule, can reach several tens. Thus, only one matrix base is used to synthesize a number of molecular duplexes of the polypeptide. such a beneficial cooperation has been called a polyribosome (polysome).

Depending on what proteins are neededa certain cell or organism as a whole, there is a multistage polypeptide biosynthesis controlled by genes and some regulatory mechanisms that operate smoothly and consistently at certain stages of the release of genetic information, including during translation.

</ p>