BRAINCAKETranscription
Transcription is the first stage of protein synthesis: a gene's base sequence is copied into mRNA. It happens in the nucleus.
1. RNA polymerase binds to the DNA at the start of the gene.
2. The hydrogen bonds between the two DNA strands break and the DNA unwinds, exposing the bases of that gene only.
3. Only one strand, the template strand (antisense strand), is used.
4. Free RNA nucleotides pair with their complementary bases on the template strand: C with G, G with C, T with A, and A on the DNA with uracil on the RNA.
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Key terms in this lesson
- gene
- A sequence of bases on a DNA molecule that codes for the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide.
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