Transfer RNA

Transfer RNA (abbreviated tRNA and formerly referred to as sRNA, for soluble RNA^[1]) is an adaptor molecule composed of RNA, typically 76 to 90 nucleotides in length (in eukaryotes),^[2] that serves as the physical link between the mRNA and the amino acid sequence of proteins. Transfer RNA (tRNA) does this by carrying an amino acid to the protein-synthesizing machinery of a cell called the ribosome. Complementation of a 3-nucleotide codon in a messenger RNA (mRNA) by a 3-nucleotide anticodon of the tRNA results in protein synthesis based on the mRNA code. As such, tRNAs are a necessary component of translation, the biological synthesis of new proteins in accordance with the genetic code.