The process of transcription is carried out by an enzyme called RNA polymerase. RNA polymerase binds to the DNA molecule at a specific region called the promoter. The promoter region contains the instructions for the RNA polymerase to start transcription.
Once RNA polymerase has bound to the promoter region, it begins to unwind the DNA molecule. This creates a template strand that the RNA polymerase can use to synthesize an RNA molecule.
As the RNA polymerase moves along the DNA molecule, it adds RNA nucleotides (A, U, G, and C) to the RNA molecule. The sequence of RNA nucleotides in the RNA molecule is complementary to the sequence of DNA nucleotides in the DNA template strand.
When RNA polymerase reaches the end of the DNA template strand, it terminates transcription. The RNA molecule is then released from the RNA polymerase and the DNA molecule is re-annealed.
The RNA molecule that is produced by transcription is then used to direct protein synthesis.
