Translation is the process in which genetic information, carried by messenger RNA (mRNA), directs the synthesis of proteins from amino acids, whereby the primary structure of the protein is determined by the nucleotide sequence in the mRNA.

A molecule known as the ribosome is the site of the protein synthesis. The ribosome is protein bound to a second species of RNA known as ribosomal RNA (rRNA). Several ribosomes may attach to a single mRNA molecule, so that many polypeptide chains are synthesized from the same mRNA. The ribosome binds to a very specific region of the mRNA called the promoter region. The promoter is upstream of the sequence that will be translated into protein.

The nucleotide sequence on the mRNA is translated into the amino acid sequence of a protein by adaptor molecules composed of a third type of RNA known as transfer RNAs (tRNAs). There are many...