Which component is directly involved in translation?


A. RNA polymerase
B. ribosome
C. spliceosome
D. DNA

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the process of translation: Translation is the process by which the genetic code carried by mRNA is decoded to produce the specific sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain.
2. Identify the role of each component listed: RNA polymerase is involved in transcription, not translation. Spliceosome is involved in the processing of pre-mRNA in eukaryotes. DNA is the genetic material that is transcribed into RNA.
3. Focus on the ribosome: The ribosome is the molecular machine in the cell that facilitates the docking and assembly of tRNAs which match the mRNA codons. Each tRNA carries a specific amino acid that is added to the growing polypeptide chain.
4. Connect the ribosome to the translation process: During translation, the ribosome moves along the mRNA, reads its base sequence, and uses the genetic code to translate the sequence of base triplets in mRNA into an amino acid sequence.
5. Conclude which component is directly involved in translation: Based on the roles of the components listed, the ribosome is directly involved in the translation process.

Key Concepts

Translation

Translation is the process by which ribosomes synthesize proteins using messenger RNA (mRNA) as a template. During translation, the ribosome reads the sequence of codons in the mRNA and assembles the corresponding amino acids into a polypeptide chain, ultimately folding into a functional protein.

Ribosome

The ribosome is a complex molecular machine found within all living cells that facilitates the translation of mRNA into proteins. It consists of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and proteins, and it has two subunits that come together during protein synthesis to read the mRNA and catalyze the formation of peptide bonds between amino acids.

mRNA

Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a type of RNA that carries genetic information from DNA to the ribosome, where it serves as a template for protein synthesis. The sequence of nucleotides in mRNA is organized into codons, each of which specifies a particular amino acid, guiding the ribosome in assembling the correct protein.