Ribosomes are the sites in a cell in which protein synthesis takes place. Cells have many ribosomes, and the exact number depends on how active a particular cell is in synthesizing proteins.

What is the main function of the ribosome?

Ribosomes have two main functions — decoding the message and the formation of peptide bonds. These two activities reside in two large ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs) of unequal size, the ribosomal subunits. Each subunit is made of one or more ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) and many ribosomal proteins (r-proteins).

What does the ribosome help to do?

Ribosomes can be found floating within the cytoplasm or attached to the endoplasmic reticulum. Their main function is to convert genetic code into an amino acid sequence and to build protein polymers from amino acid monomers.