During transcription, the DNA of a gene serves as a template for complementary base-pairing, and an enzyme called RNA polymerase II catalyzes the formation of a pre-mRNA molecule, which is then processed to form mature mRNA (Figure 1). RNA. The portion of the genome that codes for a protein or an RNA is referred to as a gene. Those genes that code for proteins are composed of tri-nucleotide units called codons, each coding for a single amino acid. The DNA and RNA Structures
Both DNA and RNA have four nitrogenous bases each—three of which they share (Cytosine, Adenine, and Guanine) and one that differs between the two (RNA has Uracil while DNA has Thymine). ... Secondly, DNA is double-stranded while RNA is single stranded. Transcription takes place in the nucleus. It uses DNA as a template to make an RNA molecule. RNA then leaves the nucleus and goes to a ribosome in the cytoplasm, where translation occurs. Translation reads the genetic code in mRNA and makes a protein.
