Final answer:
The majority of total RNA extracted from a cell is ribosomal RNA (rRNA), which is integral to the structure and function of ribosomes in protein synthesis. Messenger RNA (mRNA) and transfer RNA (tRNA) are also present, but in much smaller amounts comparatively.
Step-by-step explanation:
Major Types of Cellular RNA
When extracting total RNA from a cell, the majority of the total RNA will be composed of ribosomal RNA (rRNA). rRNA is by far the most abundant type of RNA within the cell. It is a key structural as well as an enzymatic component of the ribosomes, which are essential machinery for protein synthesis. Despite messenger RNA (mRNA) playing a crucial role in carrying the genetic code from DNA for protein creation, it only constitutes a small percentage of the total RNA present in a eukaryotic cell.
Apart from rRNA and mRNA, cells also transcribe transfer RNA (tRNA) which is important for decoding the message in mRNA during the process of translation, and various other non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), such as microRNAs (miRNAs), which are involved in gene expression regulation and other cellular processes. However, their abundance is also lesser compared to rRNA. In conclusion, rRNA is the predominant form of RNA found when extracting total RNA from cells.