Step 2: RNA Translation

After the mRNA has been transported to the rough endoplasmic reticulum, it is fed into the ribosomal translation machineries. Ribosomes begins to read the mRNA sequence from the 5` end to the 3` end. To convert the mRNA into protein, tRNA is used to read the mRNA sequence, 3 nucleotides at a time. 

Amino acids are represented by codons, which are 3-nucleotide RNA sequences. The mRNA sequence is matched three nucleotides at a time to a complementary set of three nucleotides in the anticodon region of the corresponding tRNA molecule. Opposite the anticodon region of each tRNA, an amino acid is attached and as the mRNA is read off, the amino acids on each tRNA are joined together through peptide bonds.

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