What is the purpose of transcription?

What is the purpose of transcription?

• A. To make a mRNA molecule that will leave the nucleus with "instructions" from DNA
• B. To duplicate DNA
• C. To assemble amino acids into a protein
• D. To modify proteins after translation

Answer: (A)

Transcription is the process that makes an RNA copy of a gene so the information stored in DNA can be used to make a protein. During transcription, RNA polymerase reads the DNA sequence of a gene and builds an RNA strand that matches the code in DNA. In most cells this RNA is messenger RNA, which is then processed and exits the nucleus to the cytoplasm. The ribosome later reads the mRNA and uses its codons to assemble the corresponding amino acids into a protein. So the purpose is to produce an mRNA molecule that carries the DNA instructions to the ribosome for protein synthesis. This is different from DNA replication, which duplicates the genome; translation, which assembles amino acids into a protein; and post-translational modification, which happens after a protein is made.

Transcription is the process that makes an RNA copy of a gene so the information stored in DNA can be used to make a protein. During transcription, RNA polymerase reads the DNA sequence of a gene and builds an RNA strand that matches the code in DNA. In most cells this RNA is messenger RNA, which is then processed and exits the nucleus to the cytoplasm. The ribosome later reads the mRNA and uses its codons to assemble the corresponding amino acids into a protein. So the purpose is to produce an mRNA molecule that carries the DNA instructions to the ribosome for protein synthesis. This is different from DNA replication, which duplicates the genome; translation, which assembles amino acids into a protein; and post-translational modification, which happens after a protein is made.