Can someone explain protein production of a cell to me?

Question

Where and how specifcally, does it happen?

Answer 1

Protein production is going on all the time in cells. You realize that there are structural proteins, enzymes, hormones, and all kinds of proteins that cells need. Protein production happens in the ribosomes of a cell.

Here's what happens:
1. The DNA unwinds in the area of a gene that has the instructions for making a certain protein. Enzymes "unzip" the base pairs of the DNA.
2. mRNA is formed when RNA nucleotides match the unzipped bases of the gene. This is called transcription.
3. The mRNA detaches from the DNA and goes out of the nucleus through pores in the nuclear envelope. The DNA fastens back together and winds back up again.
4. The mRNA finds a ribosome and translation can begin.
5. Every 3 bases of mRNA make up a codon that will match a particular anticodon of a tRNA. mRNA's AUG matches tRNA's UAC, for instance.
6. The tRNA has an amino acid on the other end from the anticodon.
7. The next codon on mRNA matches a second tRNA's anticodon. The second amino acid joins to the first one. This continues as the amino acid chain grows.
8. When the mRNA gets to a "stop" codon, the chain breaks off, folds up, and becomes the new protein.

See pictures here:
http://www.altavista.com/image/results?itag=ody&q=protein+synthesis&kgs=1&kls=0

and animations here:
http://www.altavista.com/video/results?itag=ody&q=protein+synthesis&mik=photo&mik=graphic&mip=all&mis=all&miwxh=all

Answer 2

protein production is called translation and it happens in the cytoplasm. mRNA that is produced in the nucleus hooks up with a ribosome in the cytoplasm. THe ribosome then "reads" the mRNA sequence and builds a protein based on the code in the mRNA.

Ribosomes making proteins that are going to float around the in the cytoplasm remain in the cytoplasm.

Ribosomes that are making proteins that are destined to be secreted from the cell, that are going to be kept in a specific cell compartment (like the lysosome or the golgi, for example), or that are making proteins that are going to be embedded in a membrane somewhere will dock with the endoplasmic reticulum. The protein then gets funneled into the ER as it is translated, with any membrane-spanning segments being inserted into the ER membrane.