Final answer:
Protein synthesis involves transcription of DNA into mRNA, and subsequent translation of mRNA into a protein sequence. This is governed by the genetic code, which dictates which amino acids are aligned to create the protein based on codon sequences in the mRNA.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Protein Synthesis
The process of decoding sequence information in nucleic acids to synthesize protein is called protein synthesis. DNA contains genetic information in the form of a nucleotide sequence, which is used to create a complementary mRNA during a process known as transcription. Subsequently, through translation, the mRNA serves as a template for the assembly of a protein sequence that corresponds to the nucleotides. This sequence of events is referred to as the 'Central Dogma' of molecular biology.
During translation, the sequence of nucleotide bases in the mRNA are read in sets of three, known as codons. Each codon specifies a particular amino acid. As the ribosomes facilitate the reading of these codons, amino acids are brought into the proper sequence to form the growing polypeptide chain that will eventually fold into a functional protein. This translation of nucleotide-based genetic information into the 'language' of amino acids is dictated by the genetic code, which is universal to almost all organisms.
The genetic code itself is composed of four bases (adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and uracil (U)) that are arranged into codons within the mRNA. The relationship between a specific codon and its corresponding amino acid is what allows for proteins with a wide array of functions to be synthesized, depending on the sequence of codons in the mRNA.