What is the process of synthesizing proteins from mRNA called?

The process of synthesizing proteins from messenger RNA (mRNA) is called translation. During translation, the mRNA, which has been transcribed from DNA, serves as a template to guide the assembly of amino acids into a polypeptide chain, ultimately forming a protein. This process occurs in the ribosome, where transfer RNAs (tRNAs) bring the appropriate amino acids based on the sequence of codons (three-nucleotide sequences) on the mRNA.

Transcription refers to the process of copying genetic information from DNA to mRNA, while replication is the process by which DNA makes a duplicate copy of itself. Transduction generally deals with the transfer of genetic material between bacteria via viruses and is unrelated to protein synthesis. Understanding translation is fundamental in biotechnology, as it is a key step in the expression of genes into functional proteins, which can be crucial for various applications in research and medicine.