In the next several lectures we're going to begin our discussion on the process of protein synthesis also known as translation. Now recall that DNA molecules although they do carry and store the genetic information that is needed for protein synthesis the DNA molecules themselves are not actually directly involved in protein synthesis. So what happens is the genetic information that is stored in DNA is transferred, is passed down to RNA molecules and it's the RNA molecules that are directly involved in protein synthesis that takes place in the cytoplasm of the cell. Now remember, there are three different types of RNA molecules that we should be aware of and each one of these RNA molecules serves its own specific function. Now let's recall what these RNA molecules are and what their function is and let's begin with the messenger RNA. So the messenger RNA, also known as the mRNA is basically the molecule that carries the genetic information from the nucleus into the cytoplasm of the cell and it's the mRNA molecule that is used as a template by the ribosomes to synthesize our polypeptide chain, our protein.