DAT Bootcamp Molecular Genetics Practice Test

The main idea is translation—the process by which ribosomes convert the information in mRNA into a polypeptide. During translation, the ribosome reads mRNA codons and works with tRNA molecules that bring the matching amino acids. As each codon is read, the ribosome links the new amino acid to the growing chain, forming peptide bonds and building a polypeptide until a stop codon ends synthesis. This occurs in the cytoplasm (in prokaryotes) or in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells, with initiation, elongation, and termination phases guiding the assembly. Transcription, by contrast, is RNA synthesis from a DNA template and does not involve the ribosome. Replication duplicates DNA, and transduction refers to viral transfer of genetic material—neither process uses ribosomes to build polypeptides.