Aminoacyl-tRNA (also
aa-tRNA or
charged tRNA) is
tRNA to which its cognated
amino acid is chemically bonded (charged). The aa-tRNA, along with some
elongation factors, deliver the amino acid to the
ribosome for incorporation into the
polypeptide chain that is being produced. A specific cognate amino acid is charged or
aminoacylated to each tRNA by
aminoacyl tRNA synthetase. This matching is crucial, since it ensures that only the particular amino acid matching the anticodon of the tRNA, and in turn matching the codon of the
mRNA, is used in protein synthesis.