DNA to Protein Translation Tool
Paste a DNA or RNA sequence and translate all six reading frames using the standard genetic code. The tool finds the longest open reading frame, marks stop codons, and lets you copy the protein for any frame.
39 bases read · stop codons shown as *
Residue names
MAIVMGR*KGAR*
WPL*WAAERVPD
GHCNGPLKGCPI
LSGTLSAAHYNGH
YRAPFQRPITMA
IGHPFSGPLQWP
Open reading frames (0 found under table 1)
No open reading frame of at least 10 amino acids in any of the six frames. Lower the minimum length to see shorter ones.
Reading the Genetic Code Across Six Frames
Translation turns a nucleotide sequence into a protein by reading it three bases at a time, and the near-universal genetic code maps each of the 64 codons to one of 20 amino acids or a stop signal. The code was deciphered by Nirenberg and Matthaei (1961) and completed over the following years, and its redundancy, where several codons encode the same amino acid, is why silent mutations exist.
Because a sequence can be read starting at three offsets on each of two strands, there are six reading frames. Only one usually carries the real protein, and the tell is a long open reading frame uninterrupted by stop codons. The other five frames are typically riddled with the stop codons TAA, TAG, and TGA. This tool translates all six frames at once and surfaces the longest methionine-to-stop peptide, a fast first estimate of the coding region before you run a database search.
To translate the opposite strand correctly, the reverse frames operate on the reverse complement, which is why an accurate reverse complement is a prerequisite for six-frame translation. You can reconstruct that strand explicitly with the reverse complement tool. Codon usage is also GC-dependent, so the GC content calculator helps interpret why some organisms favour particular synonymous codons.
This browser tool applies NCBI translation table 1, the standard code used for the nuclear genomes of most organisms. Mitochondrial and some microbial genomes use variant codes where, for example, TGA encodes tryptophan rather than a stop, so a predicted protein from a mitochondrial gene should be checked against the correct table. For full analysis of coding sequences, expression, and downstream statistics, the bioinformatics analysis service handles the complete pipeline.
A Worked Example: One Coding Frame Among Six
Take the sequence ATGAAACTTAGCACCCATTGGGAATGA. Read in the first forward frame, it splits into nine codons that translate cleanly from a start codon to a stop, with no interruption in between. That uninterrupted run is the signature of a coding frame.
| Codon | Amino acid | Symbol |
|---|---|---|
| ATG | Methionine (start) | M |
| AAA | Lysine | K |
| CTT | Leucine | L |
| AGC | Serine | S |
| ACC | Threonine | T |
| CAT | Histidine | H |
| TGG | Tryptophan | W |
| GAA | Glutamate | E |
| TGA | Stop | * |
The protein is MKLSTHWE. Now compare all six frames of the same sequence: only the first forward frame reads from methionine to a single terminal stop, while the others either open on a stop or carry one mid-sequence. That contrast is exactly how you pick the coding frame.
| Frame | Translation | Internal stops |
|---|---|---|
| +1 | MKLSTHWE* | clean ORF |
| +2 | *NLAPIGN | opens on stop |
| +3 | ET*HPLGM | internal stop |
| −1 | SFPMGAKFH | no start-to-stop ORF |
| −2 | HSQWVLSF | no start-to-stop ORF |
| −3 | IPNGC*VS | internal stop |
Common Mistakes When Translating DNA
- Translating only the forward strand. A gene on the opposite strand is read from the reverse complement, so a forward-only translation misses it entirely. Always translate all six frames unless you already know the strand and offset.
- Using the wrong genetic code. Mitochondrial and some microbial genomes reassign codons; in the vertebrate mitochondrial code TGA encodes tryptophan rather than a stop. Translating a mitochondrial gene with the standard table inserts a false stop and truncates the protein. This tool uses the standard nuclear code (table 1), so switch tables in mind for organellar sequences.
- Assuming the longest ORF is the real gene. The longest open reading frame is a good first guess, not proof. Confirm with a start context, homology from a BLASTp search, or expression evidence before calling it the coding sequence.
- Ignoring an upstream frameshift. A single inserted or deleted base shifts every downstream codon, so one indel turns a clean protein into nonsense from that point on. A sudden run of stop codons partway through a frame is the classic sign of a frameshift, not a real termination.
- Reading through the untranslated region. Starting translation at the very first base of an mRNA rather than at the initiator ATG adds spurious residues from the 5' untranslated region. Trim to the start codon so the protein begins at methionine.
How to Use This Tool
Paste your sequence
DNA or RNA. FASTA headers, spaces, and line breaks are ignored, and uracil is read as thymine.
All six frames or one
Translate every frame at once, or pick a single forward or reverse frame to inspect closely.
Read the longest ORF
The tool highlights the longest methionine-to-stop peptide, the most likely coding region.
Copy the protein
Copy any frame or the longest open reading frame for a database search or downstream analysis.
Next step
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do you translate DNA to protein?
Read the DNA sequence in groups of three bases called codons, and map each codon to an amino acid using the genetic code. Translation starts at a start codon (usually ATG, coding for methionine) and continues until a stop codon (TAA, TAG, or TGA) is reached. This tool applies the standard genetic code (NCBI translation table 1), treats U as T for RNA input, and shows the amino acid string with stop codons marked so you can read the protein directly.
What are the six reading frames?
A double-stranded DNA sequence can be read in six ways: three forward frames starting at positions 1, 2, and 3 of the given strand, and three reverse frames starting at positions 1, 2, and 3 of the reverse complement. Because you usually do not know in advance which frame encodes the protein, translating all six and looking for the longest stretch without stop codons is the standard way to identify the coding frame. This tool computes all six frames at once.
What is an open reading frame?
An open reading frame (ORF) is a stretch of codons that begins with a start codon and runs to a stop codon without any intervening stop, so it could in principle be translated into a protein. The longest ORF in a sequence is often, though not always, the real coding sequence. This tool reports the longest methionine-to-stop peptide across all six frames as a first estimate of the coding region.
What is the difference between transcription and translation?
Transcription copies a DNA template strand into messenger RNA, replacing thymine with uracil. Translation then decodes that messenger RNA into a protein, three bases at a time, at the ribosome. This tool performs the translation step: it accepts DNA or RNA and returns the amino acid sequence. To reconstruct the template strand that transcription would read, use the reverse complement tool.
How do I find the correct reading frame?
Translate all six frames and look for the one with a long open reading frame, meaning a long run of amino acids uninterrupted by stop codons, ideally beginning with methionine. The correct coding frame typically has a single long ORF while the incorrect frames are peppered with stop codons. For confirmation, compare the predicted protein against a database with a tool such as BLASTp.
What are start and stop codons?
The start codon ATG codes for methionine and marks where translation begins in most genes. The three stop codons, TAA, TAG, and TGA, do not code for an amino acid and instead signal the ribosome to release the finished protein. In this tool, methionine appears as M and stop codons appear as a red asterisk, so you can spot where each reading frame opens and closes.
Related Sequence Tools
To reconstruct the strand the reverse frames read, use the reverse complement tool. To profile codon-relevant composition, the GC content calculator reports GC content and skew. When designing primers around a coding region, the primer melting temperature calculator gives nearest-neighbor melting temperatures. For end-to-end analysis of sequence and expression data, the bioinformatics analysis service covers the full pipeline.
Reviewed by
Dr. Sarah Mitchell
Dr. Sarah Mitchell holds a PhD in Biostatistics from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and has over 15 years of experience in systematic review methodology and meta-analysis. She has authored or co-authored 40+ peer-reviewed publications in journals including the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, BMC Medical Research Methodology, and Research Synthesis Methods. A former Cochrane Review Group statistician and current editorial board member of Systematic Reviews, Dr. Mitchell has supervised 200+ evidence synthesis projects across clinical medicine, public health, and social sciences. She reviews all Research Gold tools to ensure statistical accuracy and compliance with Cochrane Handbook and PRISMA 2020 standards.
The Tool Is Free. The Full Analysis of Your Biological Data? We Handle That.
Our PhD statisticians run the complete pipeline: differential expression with multiple-testing correction, survival modelling, dimensionality reduction, and publication-ready figures with a reproducible methods section. Constant pricing, most projects delivered in under two weeks.
Our promise: Free pipeline re-run and figure revisions if reviewers push back.