Transcription is the biological process of making an RNA copy of a gene's DNA sequence. Specifically, it produces a complementary RNA strand from one of the DNA strands, using the enzyme RNA polymerase
. The main product of transcription is messenger RNA (mRNA), which carries the genetic information encoded in DNA to the cell cytoplasm, where it serves as a template for protein synthesis. In other words, transcription makes mRNA that encodes the instructions for building proteins
. Besides mRNA, transcription can also produce other types of RNA molecules, such as non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), which have various regulatory and structural roles in the cell
. In summary, transcription makes:
- Messenger RNA (mRNA), which carries protein-coding information from DNA to ribosomes for protein synthesis.
- Other RNA molecules (non-coding RNAs) involved in gene regulation and cellular functions.
Thus, transcription converts the DNA code into RNA molecules that are essential for gene expression and protein production in cells