A gene is selected for protein production and RNA polymerase unwinds the DNA at that gene. It uses one DNA strand as a template to produce mRNA through transcription. The primary mRNA transcript is processed to remove introns, leaving exons that are spliced together. The mature mRNA then binds to ribosomes for translation, where tRNA matches its anticodon to mRNA codons and carries the corresponding amino acids. The ribosome catalyzes peptide bond formation between amino acids specified by mRNA to produce the protein.