Cell Biology

Transcription and translation are two steps in a process known as gene expression, which is the process of turning genetic information stored in a gene into a working product, such as a protein. Transcription is the process in which DNA is copied into a molecule of messenger RNA (mRNA) that can travel out of the nucleus of a cell and into the cytoplasm. Here, the information coded into mRNA is then translated into a sequence of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. Translation is the process of using the genetic code stored in mRNA to create a chain of amino acids, which then folds into a functional protein. This process requires an enzyme called a ribosome, which reads the genetic code stored in mRNA as a sequence of three nucleotides and translates this into a sequence of amino acids. In summary, transcription and translation are two steps that allow cells to take genetic information from DNA, store it in mRNA, and ultimately create a protein that serves a purpose in the cell.