Flexi Says: Protein synthesis is the process in which cells make proteins. It occurs in two stages: transcription and translation. Transcription is the transfer of genetic instructions in DNA to mRNA in the nucleus. It includes three steps: initiation, elongation, and termination. After the mRNA is processed, it carries the instructions to a ribosome in the cytoplasm. Translation occurs at the ribosome, which consists of rRNA and proteins. In translation, the instructions in mRNA are read, and tRNA brings the correct sequence of amino acids to the ribosome. Then, rRNA helps bonds form between the amino acids, producing a polypeptide chain. After a polypeptide chain is synthesized, it may undergo additional processing to form the finished protein.