transfer RNA (tRNA), a kind of RNA that carries an anticodon (three nucleotide bases) and a specific amino acid. The identity of the amino acid is determined by the sequence of nucleotides in the anticodon. There are 64 possible anticodons and about two dozen amino acids that are found in proteins. This means that several anticodons may specify to the same amino acid. Each anticodon is complementary to a specific codon in the messenger RNA. The tRNAs (with their amino acids attached) translate the sequence of codons in messenger RNA into a sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide. Also called adaptor RNA.
