Protein Synthesis Steps

The process of making proteins is known as synthesis. There are numerous steps to synthesis which a single sell must go through to form a protein. DNA, messenger RNA, transfer RNA, ribosomes, multiple enzymes and amino acids are the various elements involved in the synthesis.

A protein comprises a lengthy chains of amino acids which are bonded together. Of the 20 amino acids, 10 have subunits which attract water, while the rest don't. The backbone of amino acids is able to form firm bonds, while the actual amino acids form fragile bonds. As a result of this, amino acids have the ability to be flexible and are also able to change shape at will. The most vital aspect of proteins is that arrangement of amino acids will determine their function.

Steps of Protein Synthesis

There are three major steps or phases:

1. Transcription
2. Transferal
3. Translation

Each of these phases are further subdivided into smaller steps.

Transcription
In this step, the pattern of nucleotides in the double coil DNA form are genetically converted into one strand of messenger RNA. At a time, 3 nucleotides become commands for one amino acid. In a single strand of DNA, 1,200 nucleotides are present. Thus there should be 400 amino acids generated which would represent just a single gene in a strand of DNA. Since there are an extraordinarily huge number of genes present in a human body, it can be tough to imagine the enormity of this process.

Transferal
This is the phase wherein an amino acid is connected to one end of RNA. At the other end, a particular 3 nucleotides code will be joined at the mRNA stage. Like a variety of amino acids, there are also a huge variety of amino acid activating enzymes. The various steps involved in this phase are:

Step 1
A single ATP molecule slides into the activating enzyme, in a place particularly designed for it.

Step 2
An amino acid then settles at a places specifically reserved for it.

Step 3
Both, the amino acid as well as the ATP molecule start moving closer to each other till they bind together. This results in two phosphates getting released, thereby energizing the amino acid.

Step 4
Now the adapter then settles in its reserved position, besides the amino acid.

Step 5
The amino acid and adapter start moving towards each other and consequently bond.

Step 6
The ATP molecule gets released but only after all its energy is sifted into the bond.

Step 7
Then, eventually the activating enzyme let goes the adapter, which has the amino acid connected at the other end.

Translation
In this phase, a single amino acid gets attached to an adapter. It takes a lot of amino acids to make up a protein. Hence there needs to be a mechanism by which these amino acids get connected to produce a single protein. Ribosomes make this possible. They interpret the nucleotide code and links it to the correct amino acid. The steps involved during this phase are listed below.

Step 1
The smaller part of the ribosomes attracts a messenger RNA.

Step 2
The first 3 nucleotides of a messenger RNA are matched with the first adapter.

Step 3
Now, the bigger part of the ribosomes joins to the smaller part.

Step 4
The second adapter then slides into a position to the left of the initial adapter.

Step 5
Posterior connectors of the two amino acids are there towards the end of the adapter links.

Step 6
The initial adapter gets released as the RNA messenger moves to the right. This creates an empty area to the left of the second adapter. The adapter which was released has two amino acids linked at the ends.

Step 7
This process continues as more and more adapters keep arriving. The new ones connect their amino acid chains and older ones are released. Thus, the number of amino acids linked to the adapter increases.

Step 8
The process comes to a halt when the last 3-nucleotide code is unable to find an adapter which can hold it.

Step 9
The ribosomes then lets go the mRNA, and protein is formed out of the amino acid chain.

Step 10
There are a huge number of ribosomes which work together to generate proteins. Hence they are also known as the 'protein factory'.

Going through the protein synthesis steps listed above makes people realize the fact that it is an highly complicated. The most interesting fact is that for every unique arrangement of amino acids, a different protein takes shape.