they are key to translation, each amino acid has its own tRNA molecule that transfers amino acids present in the cytoplasm to the ribosome
structure of tRNA
made of single stranded RNA
they fold back on themselves and complementary base pairing makes them a clover leaf shape
at one end of the tRNA is a three base sequence called an anticodon
at the opposite end is the binding site for the amino acid
the tRNA molecule has an anticodon (the anticodon sequence is complementary to the mRNA codon for a particular amino acid) and within the cytoplasm free amino acids become attached to the correct tRNA molecules
