What is the function of the Ribosome?

1 Answer
Feb 6, 2018

The function of the Ribosome is to create polypeptides for excretion or use in the cell.

Explanation:

The ribosome is an organelle in the cell that is either found floating around in the cytosol (free ribosomes) or attached to the Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum. Both have a similar purpose, however, which is to assemble polypeptides.

The ribosomes do this through a process called translation, where mRNA attaches to the ribosome and tRNA molecules carrying individual amino acids attach to the codons in the mRNA. It continues adding amino acids until a stop codon is reached, where the new polypeptide is released and goes off to do its purpose.

Free ribosomes usually create polypeptides that will be used in the cell itself, while those that are on the Rough ER will usually create polypeptides that will be excreted and sent to other cells.