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Ribosomes, Transcription, and

Translation
The genetic information stored in DNA is a living archive of instructions that cells use to
accomplish the functions of life. Inside each cell, catalysts seek out the appropriate
information from this archive and use it to build new proteins — proteins that make up the
structures of the cell, run the biochemical reactions in the cell, and are sometimes
manufactured for export. Although all of the cells that make up a multicellular organism
contain identical genetic information, functionally different cells within the organism use
different sets of catalysts to express only specific portions of these instructions to
accomplish the functions of life.

How Is Genetic Information Passed on in Dividing Cells?

When a cell divides, it creates one copy of its genetic information — in the form of DNA
molecules — for each of the two resulting daughter cells. The accuracy of these copies
determines the health and inherited features of the nascent cells, so it is essential that the
process of DNA replication be as accurate as possible (Figure 1).

Figure 1: DNA replication of the leading and lagging strand

The helicase unzips the double-stranded DNA for replication, making a forked structure. The primase generates short
strands of RNA that bind to the single-stranded DNA to initiate DNA synthesis by the DNA polymerase. This enzyme can
work only in the 5' to 3' direction, so it replicates the leading strand continuously. Lagging-strand replication is
discontinuous, with short Okazaki fragments being formed and later linked together.
© 2006 Nature Publishing Group Bell, S. D. Molecular biology: Prime-time progress. Nature 439, 542-543
(2006). All rights reserved.
Figure Detail

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One factor that helps ensure precise replication is the double-helical structure of DNA
itself. In particular, the two strands of the DNA double helix are made up of combinations of
molecules called nucleotides. DNA is constructed from just four different nucleotides —
adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G) — each of which is named for
the nitrogenous base it contains. Moreover, the nucleotides that form one strand of the
DNA double helix always bond with the nucleotides in the other strand according to a
pattern known as complementary base-pairing — specifically, A always pairs with T, and
C always pairs with G (Figure 2). Thus, during cell division, the paired strands unravel and
each strand serves as the template for synthesis of a new complementary strand.

In most multicellular organisms, every cell carries the same

DNA, but this genetic information is used in varying ways by
different types of cells. In other words, what a cell "does"
within an organism dictates which of its genes are expressed.
Nerve cells, for example, synthesize an abundance of
chemicals called neurotransmitters, which they use to send
messages to other cells, whereas muscle cells load
themselves with the protein-based filaments necessary for
muscle contractions.
Each nucleotide has an affinity
for its partner: A pairs with T,
and C pairs with G.
© 2009 Nature Education All
rights reserved.

What Are the Initial Steps in Accessing Genetic Information?

Transcription is the first step in decoding

a cell's genetic information. During
transcription, enzymes called RNA
polymerases build RNA molecules that
are complementary to a portion of one
strand of the DNA double helix (Figure 3).

RNA molecules differ from DNA

molecules in several important ways:
They are single stranded rather than Figure 3: RNA polymerase at work
RNA polymerase (green) synthesizes a strand of RNA that is
double stranded; their sugar component is complementary to the DNA template strand below it.
a ribose rather than a deoxyribose; and © 2009 Nature Education All rights reserved.

they include uracil (U) nucleotides rather

than thymine (T) nucleotides (Figure 4). Also, because they are single strands, RNA
molecules don't form helices; rather, they fold into complex structures that are stabilized by
internal complementary base-pairing.

Three general classes of RNA molecules are involved in

expressing the genes encoded within a cell's DNA.
Messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules carry the coding
sequences for protein synthesis and are called transcripts;
ribosomal RNA (rRNA) molecules form the core of a cell's
ribosomes (the structures in which protein synthesis takes
place); and transfer RNA (tRNA) molecules carry amino
acids to the ribosomes during protein synthesis. In eukaryotic
cells, each class of RNA has its own polymerase, whereas in
Figure 4: DNA (top) includes
prokaryotic cells, a single RNA polymerase synthesizes the thymine (red); in RNA (bottom),
different class of RNA. Other types of RNA also exist but are thymine is replaced by uracil
(yellow)
not as well understood, although they appear to play © 2009 Nature Education All
regulatory roles in gene expression and also be involved in rights reserved.

protection against invading viruses.

mRNA is the most variable class of RNA, and there are literally thousands of different
mRNA molecules present in a cell at any given time. Some mRNA molecules are
abundant, numbering in the hundreds or thousands, as is often true of transcripts encoding
structural proteins. Other mRNAs are quite rare, with perhaps only a single copy present,
as is sometimes the case for transcripts that encode signaling proteins. mRNAs also vary

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in how long-lived they are. In eukaryotes, transcripts for structural proteins may remain
intact for over ten hours, whereas transcripts for signaling proteins may be degraded in
less than ten minutes.

Cells can be characterized by the spectrum of mRNA molecules present within them; this
spectrum is called the transcriptome. Whereas each cell in a multicellular organism
carries the same DNA or genome, its transcriptome varies widely according to cell type
and function. For instance, the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas contain transcripts
for insulin, but bone cells do not. Even though bone cells carry the gene for insulin, this
gene is not transcribed. Therefore, the transcriptome functions as a kind of catalog of all of
the genes that are being expressed in a cell at a particular point in time.

What Is the Function of Ribosomes?

Ribosomes are the sites in a cell in which

protein synthesis takes place. Cells have
many ribosomes, and the exact number
depends on how active a particular cell is in
synthesizing proteins. For example, rapidly
growing cells usually have a large number of
ribosomes (Figure 5).

Ribosomes are complexes of rRNA

molecules and proteins, and they can be
observed in electron micrographs of cells.
Sometimes, ribosomes are visible as
clusters, called polyribosomes. In eukaryotes
Figure 5: An electron micrograph of a prokaryote
(but not in prokaryotes), some of the
(Escherichia coli), showing DNA and ribosomes
ribosomes are attached to internal This Escherichia coli cell has been treated with
membranes, where they synthesize the chemicals and sectioned so its DNA and ribosomes are
clearly visible. The DNA appears as swirls in the center of
proteins that will later reside in those
the cell, and the ribosomes appear as dark particles at the
membranes, or are destined for secretion cell periphery.
Courtesy of Dr. Abraham Minsky (2014). All rights
(Figure 6). Although only a few rRNA
reserved.
molecules are present in each ribosome,
these molecules make up about half of the
ribosomal mass. The remaining mass consists of a number of proteins — nearly 60 in
prokaryotic cells and over 80 in eukaryotic cells.

Within the ribosome, the rRNA molecules direct the catalytic steps of protein synthesis —
the stitching together of amino acids to make a protein molecule. In fact, rRNA is
sometimes called a ribozyme or catalytic RNA to reflect this function.

Eukaryotic and prokaryotic ribosomes are different from each other as a result of divergent
evolution. These differences are exploited by antibiotics, which are designed to inhibit the
prokaryotic ribosomes of infectious bacteria without affecting eukaryotic ribosomes,
thereby not interfering with the cells of the sick host.

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Figure 6: The endoplasmic reticulum of this eukaryotic cell is studded with ribosomes.
Electron micrograph of a pancreatic exocrine cell section. The cytosol is filled with closely packed sheets of endoplasmic
reticulum membrane studded with ribosomes. At the bottom left is a portion of the nucleus and its nuclear envelope. Image
courtesy of Prof. L. Orci (University of Geneva, Switzerland).
© 2014 Nature Publishing Group Schekman, R. Merging cultures in the study of membrane traffic. Nature Cell
Biology 6, 483-486 (2004) doi:10.1038/ncb0604-483. All rights reserved.

How Does the Whole Process Result in New Proteins?

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. 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 (Figure 7).

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Figure 7: The ribosome and translation

A ribosome is composed of two subunits: large and small. During translation, ribosomal subunits assemble together like
a sandwich on the strand of mRNA, where they proceed to attract tRNA molecules tethered to amino acids (circles). A
long chain of amino acids emerges as the ribosome decodes the mRNA sequence into a polypeptide, or a new protein.
© 2010 Nature Education All rights reserved.
Figure Detail

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. During
translation, these tRNAs carry amino acids to the ribosome and join with their
complementary codons. Then, the assembled amino acids are joined together as the
ribosome, with its resident rRNAs, moves along the mRNA molecule in a ratchet-like
motion. The resulting protein chains can be hundreds of amino acids in length, and
synthesizing these molecules requires a huge amount of chemical energy (Figure 8).

Figure 8: The major steps of translation

(1) Translation begins when a ribosome (gray) docks on a start codon (red) of an mRNA molecule in the cytoplasm. (2)
Next, tRNA molecules attached to amino acids (spheres) dock at the corresponding triplet codon sequence on the
mRNA molecule. (3, 4, and 5) This process repeats over and over, with multiple tRNAs docking and connecting
successive amino acids into a growing chain that elongates out of the top of the ribosome. (6) When the ribosome
encounters a stop codon, it falls off the mRNA molecule and releases the protein for use in the cell.
© 2010 Nature Education All rights reserved.
Figure Detail

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In prokaryotic cells, transcription (DNA to mRNA) and translation (mRNA to protein) are so
closely linked that translation usually begins before transcription is complete. In eukaryotic
cells, however, the two processes are separated in both space and time: mRNAs are
synthesized in the nucleus, and proteins are later made in the cytoplasm.

Conclusion
Cellular DNA contains instructions for building the various proteins the cell needs to
survive. In order for a cell to manufacture these proteins, specific genes within its DNA
must first be transcribed into molecules of mRNA; then, these transcripts must be
translated into chains of amino acids, which later fold into fully functional proteins.
Although all of the cells in a multicellular organism contain the same set of genetic
information, the transcriptomes of different cells vary depending on the cells' structure and
function in the organism.

eBooks
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Essentials of Cell Biology, Unit 2.1

Cell Biology for Seminars, Unit 2.1

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