The cellular metabolic process in which a protein is formed, using the sequence of a mature mRNA or circRNA molecule to specify the sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain. Translation is mediated by the ribosome, and begins with the formation of a ternary complex between aminoacylated initiator methionine tRNA, GTP, and initiation factor 2, which subsequently associates with the small subunit of the ribosome and an mRNA or circRNA. Translation ends with the release of a polypeptide chain from the ribosome.

A semiautonomous, self replicating organelle that occurs in varying numbers, shapes, and sizes in the cytoplasm of virtually all eukaryotic cells. It is notably the site of tissue respiration.

An intracellular organelle, about 200 A in diameter, consisting of RNA and protein. It is the site of protein biosynthesis resulting from translation of messenger RNA (mRNA). It consists of two subunits, one large and one small, each containing only protein and RNA. Both the ribosome and its subunits are characterized by their sedimentation coefficients, expressed in Svedberg units (symbol: S). Hence, the prokaryotic ribosome (70S) comprises a large (50S) subunit and a small (30S) subunit, while the eukaryotic ribosome (80S) comprises a large (60S) subunit and a small (40S) subunit. Two sites on the ribosomal large subunit are involved in translation, namely the aminoacyl site (A site) and peptidyl site (P site). Ribosomes from prokaryotes, eukaryotes, mitochondria, and chloroplasts have characteristically distinct ribosomal proteins.