Q. 17.49 - An Introduction to General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry

Question

What are the three steps of translation?

Step-by-Step Solution

Answer

The three steps of translation are Initiation,  Elongation and Termination  

Step 1: Introduction

Nucleic acids are organic macromolecules found throughout the cell. They were detected in the nuclei of cells for the first time. The nucleic acids DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA are found in all known forms of life (ribonucleic acid).

Step 2: The genetic code

The genetic code is a collection of principles that govern how information stored in nucleotide bases is converted into protein. It is the relationship between the mRNA base sequence and the amino acid sequence in the protein.Translation is the process of producing proteins from RNA. This step converts the information on the RNA to protein. Protein is the ultimate result of translation.

Step 3: Initiation

There are three steps to the translating process.

1) Initiation 

The mRNA molecule attaches to the 50 s ribosomal subunit in the first phase of the process, and the tRNA transports the first amino acid to the ribosome. The 30 s ribosomal subunit binds to the entire 50 forms ribosome once the amino acid binds to the P site.

Step 4: Elongation

2) Elongation 

tRNA transports the second amino acid to the ribosome, where it forms a peptide bond with the first.The ribosome advances one codon length to the A site after forming a peptide bond, bringing a new codon to the A site. The elongation process continues until the stop codon reaches the $A$ location.

Step 5: Termination

3) Termination 

After the stop codon enters the A site, there is no amino acid that matches it. This indicates to the cell that polypeptide synthesis is finished and that the polypeptide chain has been released from the ribosome.