Where does translation occur?

Where does translation occur?

• A. In the nucleus.
• B. In the mitochondria only.
• C. In the cytoplasm on ribosomes.
• D. On the endoplasmic reticulum exclusively.

Answer: (C)

Translation is the process of building a protein by decoding mRNA on ribosomes. In most cells, this happens in the cytoplasm, where free ribosomes synthesize cytosolic proteins and ribosomes bound to the rough endoplasmic reticulum handle proteins destined for secretion or membranes. It isn’t located in the nucleus, since transcription occurs there, and while mitochondria (and chloroplasts in plants) do have their own ribosomes for a subset of proteins, translation is not exclusive to those organelles. So the typical site for translation is the cytoplasm on ribosomes.

Translation is the process of building a protein by decoding mRNA on ribosomes. In most cells, this happens in the cytoplasm, where free ribosomes synthesize cytosolic proteins and ribosomes bound to the rough endoplasmic reticulum handle proteins destined for secretion or membranes. It isn’t located in the nucleus, since transcription occurs there, and while mitochondria (and chloroplasts in plants) do have their own ribosomes for a subset of proteins, translation is not exclusive to those organelles. So the typical site for translation is the cytoplasm on ribosomes.