About

The Amino Acid Translator is a specialized bioinformatics utility designed to convert nucleic acid sequences (DNA or RNA) into their corresponding polypeptide chains. This process, known as translation in molecular biology, is governed by the standard genetic code.

Accuracy in translation is critical for determining Open Reading Frames (ORFs) and predicting protein structure. This tool mitigates common errors by automatically sanitizing inputs (removing non-coding characters), handling both Thymine (T) and Uracil (U), and providing instant calculations for molecular properties.

Key constraints addressed include frame shifts and partial codons. The translator processes sequences in strictly defined triplets. Any trailing nucleotides that do not form a complete codon are excluded from the translation but preserved in the frame logic. The tool assumes the Standard Genetic Code (NCBI Table 1) and calculates molecular weight based on average isotopic masses.

Formulas

The translation process relies on mapping trinucleotide sequences (codons) to specific amino acids. The total molecular weight (MW) of the polypeptide chain is estimated by summing the weight of each amino acid minus the weight of water molecules lost during peptide bond formation.

MW protein \approx N \sum i=1 (MW aa i) - (N - 1) \times 18.015

Where:

N = Total number of amino acids in the sequence.
MW_aa = Average isotopic mass of the individual amino acid residue.
18.015 = Molecular weight of water (H₂O) in Daltons, removed per peptide bond.

For Reverse Complement logic, the input DNA sequence is reversed, and bases are swapped according to Chargaff's rules:

{

A ↔ T (or U)C ↔ G

Reference Data

Amino Acid	3-Letter	1-Letter	Codons (DNA)	Avg Mass (Da)	Hydropathy
Alanine	Ala	A	GCT, GCC, GCA, GCG	89.09	1.8
Arginine	Arg	R	CGT, CGC, CGA, CGG, AGA, AGG	174.20	-4.5
Asparagine	Asn	N	AAT, AAC	132.12	-3.5
Aspartic Acid	Asp	D	GAT, GAC	133.10	-3.5
Cysteine	Cys	C	TGT, TGC	121.16	2.5
Glutamic Acid	Glu	E	GAA, GAG	147.13	-3.5
Glutamine	Gln	Q	CAA, CAG	146.15	-3.5
Glycine	Gly	G	GGT, GGC, GGA, GGG	75.07	-0.4
Histidine	His	H	CAT, CAC	155.16	-3.2
Isoleucine	Ile	I	ATT, ATC, ATA	131.18	4.5
Leucine	Leu	L	TTA, TTG, CTT, CTC, CTA, CTG	131.18	3.8
Lysine	Lys	K	AAA, AAG	146.19	-3.9
Methionine	Met	M	ATG	149.21	1.9
Phenylalanine	Phe	F	TTT, TTC	165.19	2.8
Proline	Pro	P	CCT, CCC, CCA, CCG	115.13	-1.6
Serine	Ser	S	TCT, TCC, TCA, TCG, AGT, AGC	105.09	-0.8
Threonine	Thr	T	ACT, ACC, ACA, ACG	119.12	-0.7
Tryptophan	Trp	W	TGG	204.23	-0.9
Tyrosine	Tyr	Y	TAT, TAC	181.19	-1.3
Valine	Val	V	GTT, GTC, GTA, GTG	117.15	4.2
Stop	TERM	*	TAA, TAG, TGA	0.00	N/A

Frequently Asked Questions

Currently, this tool uses a strict Standard Genetic Code. Ambiguous characters like "N" (any base) do not map to a specific amino acid and will be rendered as "X" (Unknown) in the output sequence to maintain alignment without making false assumptions.

Yes. The tool calculates the weight of the residues. It sums the individual amino acid masses and subtracts 18.015 Da for every peptide bond formed (Sequence Length - 1), providing the weight of the dehydrated polypeptide chain.

The genetic code is read in triplets. Shifting the starting position by just 1 or 2 bases (Frame +1 or +2) completely alters the grouping of nucleotides, resulting in an entirely different amino acid sequence. This is critical for finding the correct Open Reading Frame (ORF).

Yes. The tool automatically detects "U" (Uracil) and treats it equivalently to "T" (Thymine) for translation purposes. You can paste mixed DNA/RNA, and the sanitizer will normalize it based on your settings.