What is produced by the enzyme RNA polymerase during transcription?

During transcription, RNA polymerase is the key enzyme that synthesizes RNA strands from a DNA template. The primary product of this process is messenger RNA (mRNA), which serves as a template for protein synthesis during translation.

RNA polymerase binds to a specific region of the DNA (the promoter) and unwinds the DNA strands to create a transcription bubble. It then catalyzes the formation of a complementary RNA strand by adding nucleotides that are complementary to the DNA template strand. This process results in the formation of mRNA, which carries the genetic information necessary for the synthesis of proteins.

While ribosomal RNA and transfer RNA are also produced by RNA polymerase, they are not the primary product of mRNA transcription, which is specifically focused on conveying the code from DNA to construct proteins. Thus, the focus on mRNA highlights its critical role in the gene expression pathway, bridging the gap between DNA and the production of proteins in the cell.