Which steps are involved in the creation of proteins?

The process of protein creation predominantly involves transcription and translation.

During transcription, the genetic information encoded in DNA is copied to produce messenger RNA (mRNA). This step takes place in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells, where the DNA resides. The enzyme RNA polymerase synthesizes the mRNA strand by reading the DNA and synthesizing a complementary RNA strand. This mRNA molecule then undergoes processing, including capping and polyadenylation, before it leaves the nucleus and enters the cytoplasm.

Translation is the subsequent step where the mRNA is decoded to build a protein. This process occurs in the ribosomes, where the mRNA sequence is read in sets of three bases, called codons. Each codon corresponds to a specific amino acid, which are the building blocks of proteins. Transfer RNA (tRNA) molecules transport the appropriate amino acids to the ribosome, matching their anticodons with the codons on the mRNA. As the ribosome moves along the mRNA strand, amino acids are linked together to form a polypeptide chain, which then folds into a functional protein.

Together, transcription and translation form the central dogma of molecular biology, illustrating how genetic information moves from DNA to RNA to protein.