Transcription

From Future Worlds Center Wiki

Transcription is the process by which a cell makes an RNA copy of a piece of DNA. This RNA copy called messenger RNA (mRNA), carries the genetic information needed to make proteins in a cell. It carries the information from the DNA in the cell's nucleus to the cytoplasm, where proteins are made.

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The segments of DNA transcribed into RNA molecules that can encode proteins are said to produce messenger RNA (mRNA). Other segments of DNA are copied into RNA molecules called non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). mRNA comprises only 1–3% of total RNA samples.

Less than 2% of the human genome can be transcribed into mRNA, while at least 80% of mammalian genomic DNA can be actively transcribed (in one or more types of cells), with the majority of this 80% considered to be ncRNA.