Here's a breakdown of what happens:
1. Initiation: The enzyme RNA polymerase binds to a specific region of the DNA molecule called the promoter. This signals the start of transcription.
2. Elongation: RNA polymerase moves along the DNA template strand, reading the sequence of nucleotides. As it moves, it assembles a complementary RNA strand using ribonucleotides. The RNA strand is built in the 5' to 3' direction.
3. Termination: RNA polymerase reaches a specific sequence of nucleotides called the terminator. This signals the end of transcription, and the RNA polymerase detaches from the DNA template.
The resulting RNA molecule is a single-stranded copy of the DNA sequence, and it can be used to direct the synthesis of proteins or other RNA molecules.
