RNA to Protein The building blocks of protein are amino acids. Cells assemble different amino acids into polypeptide chains through the process of translation. Translation involves mRNA carrying the genetic code from DNA to the ribosome where transfer RNA (tRNA) and ribosomal RNA (rRNA) are used to link amino acids in the correct order specified by the mRNA codons. Translation begins with initiation, followed by elongation to assemble the amino acid chain, and ends with termination when a stop codon is reached.