The A-site (A for aminoacyl) of a

ribosome Ribosomes ( ) are macromolecular machines, found within all cells, that perform biological protein synthesis (mRNA translation). Ribosomes link amino acids together in the order specified by the codons of messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules to ...

is a

binding site In biochemistry and molecular biology, a binding site is a region on a macromolecule such as a protein that binds to another molecule with specificity. The binding partner of the macromolecule is often referred to as a ligand. Ligands may inclu ...

for charged t-RNA molecules during

protein synthesis Protein biosynthesis (or protein synthesis) is a core biological process, occurring inside Cell (biology), cells, homeostasis, balancing the loss of cellular proteins (via Proteolysis, degradation or Protein targeting, export) through the product ...

. One of three such binding sites, the A-site is the first location the t-RNA binds during the protein synthesis process, the other two sites being

P-site The P-site (for peptidyl) is the second binding site for tRNA in the ribosome. The other two sites are the A-site (aminoacyl), which is the first binding site in the ribosome, and the E-site (exit), the third. During protein translation, the P-site ...

(peptidyl) and

E-site The E-site is the third and final binding site for t-RNA in the ribosome during translation, a part of protein synthesis. The "E" stands for exit, and is accompanied by the P-site (for peptidyl) which is the second binding site, and the A-site ( ...

(exit).

References

Ribosomal RNA {{Genetics-stub