Question

RNA polymerase moves along the template strand of DNA in the ________ direction, and adds nucleotides to the ________ end of the growing transcript.

1) 3' to 5'; 5'
2) 3' to 5'; 3'
3) 5' to 3'; 5'
4) 5' to 3'; 3'

Answer 1

RNA polymerase reads the DNA template strand in the 3' to 5' direction while adding nucleotides to the new RNA strand strictly at the 3' end.

Step-by-step explanation:

RNA polymerase moves along the template strand of DNA in the 3' to 5' direction, and adds nucleotides to the 3' end of the growing transcript. Therefore, the correct answer is option 2) 3' to 5'; 3'.

During the transcription process, RNA polymerase unwinds the DNA and reads the template DNA strand. It synthesizes mRNA by adding complementary RNA nucleotides. This process is critical to the formation of mRNA, which will go on to be used in protein synthesis during translation.