Final answer:
The central dogma of molecular biology involves two main processes: transcription, where DNA is transcribed to mRNA in the nucleus, and translation, where mRNA is translated into proteins in the cytoplasm. They are different but related stages of gene expression.
Step-by-step explanation:
Transcription vs Translation in the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology
The central dogma of molecular biology is a framework that describes the flow of genetic information within a biological system. The two key processes involved in this dogma are transcription and translation. Transcription is the process by which the genetic instructions in DNA are copied to messenger RNA (mRNA); this occurs in the nucleus of the cell. The enzyme involved in transcription is RNA polymerase. During transcription, RNA polymerase binds to a promoter region in the DNA and synthesizes a complementary RNA strand.
Translation, on the other hand, is the process of converting the mRNA template into a functional protein. This occurs in the cytoplasm of the cell, where ribosomes read the mRNA sequence and assemble the corresponding amino acids to form a protein.
These processes are fundamentally different but interconnected. Some of the main differences between transcription and translation include their location within the cell, the enzyme involved (RNA polymerase for transcription and ribosomes for translation), and the product (mRNA vs protein).