The process of producing an RNA molecule using a DNA sequence as a template.
Transcription is one of the major processes through which genetic information is used by cells. An enzyme called RNA polymerase reads a DNA template and produces a complementary RNA molecule.
For many genes, the resulting messenger RNA carries information that can subsequently be used during translation to produce a protein. Other RNA molecules produced through transcription perform regulatory, structural, or other functions without being translated into proteins.
QUICK FACT
Transcription is DNA → RNA, whereas translation is RNA → protein.
COMMONLY CONFUSED WITH
- Replication: copying DNA to produce another DNA molecule.
- Translation: using information in an RNA molecule to assemble a protein.
- Reverse transcription: producing DNA from an RNA template, essentially the opposite direction of the central information flow and characteristic of processes such as retroviral replication.
SEE ALSO