What is translation?

• A. The process of copying DNA.
• B. The process of forming RNA from a DNA template.
• C. The process of translating RNA into a protein.
• D. The process of synthesizing proteins from mRNA at the ribosome.

Answer: (D)

Translation is the process by which the information in messenger RNA is used to assemble amino acids into a protein at the ribosome. The ribosome reads each mRNA codon, tRNA brings the corresponding amino acid, and peptide bonds form to build a polypeptide that folds into a functional protein. This step occurs after transcription and in the cytoplasm (or on the rough endoplasmic reticulum for proteins destined for secretion or membranes).

The choice that describes synthesizing proteins from mRNA at the ribosome matches this definition precisely. Copying DNA is replication, and forming RNA from a DNA template is transcription. Describing translating RNA into a protein is essentially the same idea, but the standard phrase emphasizes the ribosome and mRNA-to-protein synthesis.