codon
(KOH-don)
A sequence of three nucleotides in a strand of DNA or RNA. Each codon corresponds to a specific amino acid (a building block of a protein). A protein is made from a long chain of amino acids. A codon can instruct the cell to start creating a protein chain, to add a specific amino acid to the growing protein chain, or to end the protein chain. The full set of codons is called the genetic code.
More Information
Enlarge this image in new windowTranscription and translation are processes a cell uses to make all proteins the body needs to function from information stored in the sequence of bases in DNA. The four bases (C, A, T/U, and G in the figure) are the building blocks of DNA and RNA. During transcription, a piece of DNA that codes for a specific gene is copied into messenger RNA (mRNA) in the nucleus of the cell. The mRNA then carries the genetic information from the DNA to the cytoplasm, where translation occurs. During translation, proteins are made using the information stored in the mRNA sequence. The mRNA attaches to a structure called a ribosome that can read the genetic information. As the mRNA passes through the ribosome, another type of RNA called transfer RNA (tRNA) carries a protein building block called an amino acid to the ribosome. The tRNA carrying the amino acid binds to a matching sequence in the mRNA. As each tRNA binds to the mRNA strand, the amino acid it carried joins with the other amino acids to form a chain of amino acids. Once all of the amino acids coded for in the piece of mRNA have been linked, the completed protein is released from the ribosome.