Free Organelle Involvement in Protein Synthesis revision notes for OCR A Level Biology – covering specification point 2.1.1(i).
Protein Synthesis and Organelles
Protein synthesis assembles amino acids into a polypeptide chain, which is then folded and modified into a protein.
It consists of two phases, transcription and translation:
- Transcription is when a gene is transcribed (copied) to produce mRNA (messenger RNA).
- Translation is when ribosomes make a polypeptide (protein) chain by ‘reading’ the bases on mRNA to assemble amino acids in the correct order.
However, it takes many organelles working together to produce a fully functioning protein.
The order of organelles involved (usually) is:
Nucleolus → Nuclear Membrane → Ribosome → Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum → Vesicle → Golgi Apparatus → Secretory Vesicle → Cell Surface Membrane
