Final answer:
The process described is called translation, where the information in mRNA is used to make proteins. Transcription is the earlier step where DNA is used to make mRNA. This follows the Central Dogma of molecular biology, from DNA to mRNA to protein.
Step-by-step explanation:
The process by which the information in an RNA molecule is used is called translation. In biology, transcription is the process in which a DNA sequence is copied into mRNA, while translation is the subsequent step where the information coded in the mRNA is read by ribosomes to synthesize proteins. The Central Dogma of molecular biology describes the flow of genetic information in cells from DNA to mRNA to protein.
During transcription, only one strand of DNA is used as a template, and an enzyme called RNA polymerase builds the single-stranded RNA molecule, with uracil (U) pairing with adenine (A) instead of thymine (T). After transcription, during translation, the sequence encoded in the mRNA is used to determine the order of amino acids in the protein.