Final answer:
The correct statement about protein synthesis is that the 23S rRNA catalyzes peptide bond formation in the growing polypeptide chain, which is part of the ribosome's role during translation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that is TRUE regarding protein synthesis is: The 23S rRNA catalyzes peptide bond formation in the growing polypeptide chain. During translation, ribosomes, which consist of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and proteins, facilitate the bonding between amino acids. Specifically, the peptidyl transferase activity is an intrinsic property of the 23S rRNA in the large subunit of prokaryotic ribosomes (or 28S rRNA in eukaryotic ribosomes), which catalyzes the formation of peptide bonds. This enzymatic activity is not carried out by messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), or ribosomal proteins independently.
tRNA molecules play a different role: they bring the correct amino acids to the ribosome and match their anticodons with the codons on mRNA, building the polypeptide chain sequentially. The process of translation includes the following steps: the ribosome reads the mRNA, tRNA brings the corresponding amino acid, and the 23S rRNA in the ribosome catalyzes the formation of the peptide bond between the amino acids.