Building the Protein Chain
The ribosome moves along the mRNA like a scanner, reading each codon in sequence and adding up to 15 amino acids per second. As it shifts to the next codon, the previous tRNA gets released and can collect another amino acid from the cell's amino acid pool - it's like a recycling system.
Multiple ribosomes can work on the same mRNA simultaneously, with up to 50 ribosomes trailing behind each other. This polyribosome setup means your cells can mass-produce identical proteins incredibly efficiently.
Translation stops when the ribosome hits a stop codon, causing everything to separate and release the completed polypeptide chain. The chain then folds into its secondary and tertiary structures, and may combine with other polypeptides to form the final functional protein.
Remember: The DNA sequence determines the mRNA codons, which determine the tRNA order, which determines the amino acid sequence - it's a perfect chain of genetic information transfer.