Final answer:
Transcription refers to the process in biology where information from DNA is copied into mRNA. This occurs in the cell's nucleus, involving RNA polymerase enzymes and results in the creation of a complementary RNA strand that can be used in protein synthesis.
Step-by-step explanation:
To transcribe means to make a written copy or to summarize the information from one source in a new form. In the context of molecular biology, transcription is a process where the information in a cell's DNA is copied into messenger RNA (mRNA). The mRNA is a smaller, single-stranded copy of the gene that can be transported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, where it serves as a guide for making proteins.
Transcription occurs in the nucleus of the cell. It begins when enzymes called RNA polymerases bind to a specific sequence of DNA known as the promoter. The RNA polymerase then unzips the DNA strand and uses one strand as a template to synthesize a complementary strand of RNA. This RNA strand, known as mRNA, mirrors the gene's instruction set but replaces the DNA base thymine (T) with uracil (U). Once the mRNA is synthesized, it undergoes processing and moves to the cell's cytoplasm. Here, another cellular process called translation happens, converting the genetic code carried by the mRNA into the amino acid sequence of a protein.