The role of the ribosome in protein synthesis is to facilitate the assembly of amino acids into polypeptide chains, ultimately forming proteins. Ribosomes read the messenger RNA (mRNA) sequence, which contains the genetic code, and translate it into a specific sequence of amino acids. This process occurs in two main stages: translation initiation and elongation. The ribosome also ensures that the correct transfer RNA (tRNA) molecules, each carrying an amino acid, match the corresponding codon on the mRNA strand.