RIBOSOMES AND
TRANSLATION
Michael Cabilan
RIBOSOMES AND TRANSLATION
What is Ribosome?
a tiny, somewhat mitten-shaped organelle
occurring in great numbers in the cell
cytoplasm either freely, in small clusters,
or attached to the outer surfaces of
endoplasmic reticula, and functioning as
the site of protein manufacture.
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Ribosomes are the structures where polypeptides (proteins) are
built. They are made up of protein and RNA (ribosomal RNA, or
rRNA). Each ribosome has two subunits, a large one and a small
one, which come together around an mRNA—kind of like the two
halves of a hamburger bun coming together around the patty.
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Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
It associates with a set of proteins to form ribosomes. These complex
structures, which physically move along an mRNA molecule, catalyze
the assembly of amino acids into protein chains. They also bind tRNAs
and various accessory molecules necessary for protein synthesis.
Ribosomes are composed of a large and small subunit, each of which
contains its own rRNA molecule or molecules.
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What Is the Function of
Ribosomes?
• Ribosomes are the sites in a cell in which protein synthesis takes
place.
• provides a set of handy slots where tRNAs can find their matching
codons on the mRNA template and deliver their amino acids.
• also acts as an enzyme, catalyzing the chemical reaction that links
amino acids together to make a chain.
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Transfer RNAs (tRNAs)
• Transfer RNAs, or tRNAs, are molecular
"bridges" that connect mRNA codons to
the amino acids they encode. One end of
each tRNA has a sequence of three
nucleotides called an anticodon, which
can bind to specific mRNA codons. The
other end of the tRNA carries the amino
acid specified by the codons.
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Translation Process
After the transcription of DNA to mRNA is complete, translation — or
the reading of these mRNAs to make proteins — begins. Recall that
mRNA molecules are single stranded, and the order of their bases —
A, U, C, and G — is complementary to that in specific portions of the
cell's DNA.
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Steps of translation
• Your cells are making new proteins every second of the day. And each of those
proteins must contain the right set of amino acids, linked together in just the right
order. That may sound like a challenging task, but luckily, your cells (along with
those of other animals, plants, and bacteria) are up to the job.
• To see how cells make proteins, let's divide translation into three stages: initiation
(starting off), elongation (adding on to the protein chain), and termination (finishing
up).
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Getting started: Initiation
In initiation, the ribosome assembles around the mRNA to be read and the
first tRNA (carrying the amino acid methionine, which matches the start
codon, AUG). This setup, called the initiation complex, is needed in order
for translation to get started.
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Extending the chain: Elongation
• Elongation is the stage where the amino acid chain gets longer. In
elongation, the mRNA is read one codon at a time, and the amino acid
matching each codon is added to a growing protein chain.
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• Each mRNA dictates the order in which amino acids should be added
to a growing protein as it is synthesized. In fact, every amino acid is
represented by a three-nucleotide sequence or codon along the mRNA
molecule. For example, AGC is the mRNA codon for the amino acid
serine, and UAA is a signal to stop translating a protein — also called
the stop codon.
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• Molecules of tRNA are responsible for
matching amino acids with the
appropriate codons in mRNA. Each
tRNA molecule has two distinct ends,
one of which binds to a specific amino
acid, and the other which binds to the
corresponding mRNA codon.
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• The codon AUG is called the START codon as it the first codon in the
transcribed mRNA that undergoes translation. AUG is the most
common START codon and it codes for the amino acid methionine
(Met) in eukaryotes and formyl methionine (fMet) in prokaryotes.
During protein synthesis, the tRNA recognizes the START codon AUG
with the help of some initiation factors and starts translation of mRNA.
• The stop codons are Amber (UAG), Ochre (UAA), Opal (UGA).
These codons are also known as nonsense codons or termination codons
as they do not code for an amino acid.
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Finishing up: Termination
Termination is the stage in which the finished polypeptide chain is
released. It begins when a stop codon (UAG, UAA, or UGA) enters the
ribosome, triggering a series of events that separate the chain from its
tRNA and allow it to drift out of the ribosome.
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After termination, the polypeptide may still need to fold into the right
3D shape, undergo processing (such as the removal of amino acids), get
shipped to the right place in the cell, or combine with other polypeptides
before it can do its job as a functional protein.
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THANK YOU
