What is the end product of translation?

The end product of translation is proteins. Translation is a crucial step in the process of gene expression, taking place in the ribosomes of cells. During this process, messenger RNA (mRNA) is read by ribosomes, which assemble amino acids into a polypeptide chain based on the sequence of codons (three-nucleotide sequences) present in the mRNA.

As the translation progresses, transfer RNA (tRNA) molecules bring specific amino acids to the ribosome corresponding to the codons in the mRNA. Once the polypeptide chain is fully synthesized, it undergoes folding and post-translational modifications to become a functional protein. Therefore, proteins are the ultimate goal of translation, serving as vital molecules in the structure and functioning of cells.

In this context, while nucleotides, amino acids, and DNA are all important in the broader scope of genetics and molecular biology, they are not the direct end products of translation. Nucleotides are the building blocks of nucleic acids like DNA and RNA, amino acids are the building blocks that are linked together to form proteins but are not the final product themselves, and DNA is the genetic material that is transcribed to produce mRNA for translation. Hence, the correct answer