Ace the 2026 Transcription & Translation Challenge – Tune In and Turn Words Into Gold!

Peptidyl transferase carries out the chemical step that lengthens the protein during translation: it forms the peptide bond between the growing polypeptide attached to the tRNA in the P site and the aminoacyl-tRNA in the A site, transferring the polypeptide onto the A-site tRNA and creating a longer chain. This catalytic activity comes from the ribosome’s large subunit RNA, making it a ribozyme. It’s not about unfolding the nascent peptide, which is done by other factors, nor about hydrolyzing GTP during translocation (that’s the role of elongation factors), nor about recruiting tRNA to the A site (that’s handled by the delivery factors).