DNA translation

This tool translates an input DNA sequence into amino acid sequences in all three forward reading frames. You can choose to display the output in single-letter or three-letter amino acid codes.

This tool is useful to help find open reading frames or the correct protein-coding reading frame. If you do not know which is the correct reading frame, the chances are that the correct frame is the one without multiple stop codons. It is useful to check whether a cloned DNA insert is in the same reading frame as a vector-encoded tag or protein fusion, or to compare how translation shifts when the sequence starts at different positions.

The tool gives you the option of using a regular codon table, which is appropriate in most cases, or alternatively a vertebrate mitochondrial codon table (NCBI table 2). Translation within mitochondria uses some unique codons. For example, TGA normally encodes a stop; in vertebrate mitochondria TGA encodes tryptophan (Trp). Other differences include ATA → Met, and AGA / AGG → stop.

To use the tool, paste your DNA sequence (ACGT; FASTA headers are skipped) into the sequence box, or upload a FASTA file. Choose the genetic code and single-letter or three-letter amino acid codes. Stop codons are shown in the output so you can spot where translation terminates in each frame.

Translation runs entirely in your browser. This is a simple codon table lookup — it does not predict splice sites, RNA editing, or selenocysteine exceptions. For reverse-strand genes, reverse-complement your sequence first using the DNA reverse & complement tool, then translate here.