Protein Synthesis

Definition

Protein synthesis is the process by which cells build proteins. This involves two main stages - transcription (where DNA is converted into RNA) and translation (where RNA is used to produce proteins).

Related terms

Transcription: This is the first step of protein synthesis where the information in DNA is copied into a new molecule of messenger RNA (mRNA).

Translation: This is the second step of protein synthesis where mRNA produced in transcription serves as a template for assembling amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.

Amino Acids: These are organic compounds that combine to form proteins. There are 20 different types of amino acids that can be combined to make a protein.