 In eukaryotic organisms , pre @-@ mRNA is transcribed in the nucleus , introns are spliced out , then the mature mRNA is exported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm . The small subunit of the ribosome usually starts by binding to one end of the mRNA and is joined there by various other eukaryotic initiation factors , forming the initiation complex . The initiation complex scans along the mRNA strand until it reaches a start codon , and then the large subunit of the ribosome attaches to the small subunit and translation of a protein begins . This entire process is referred to as gene expression ; it is the process by which the information in a gene , encoded as a sequence of bases in DNA , is converted into the structure of a protein . A Morpholino can modify splicing or block translation , depending on the Morpholino 's base sequence . 
