Asked in Premeth past paper pool — Biology

The function of RNA polymerase enzyme is to synthesise

Correct answer: A. mRNA from a DNA template

  • A. mRNA from a DNA template
  • B. A polypeptide from mRNA template
  • C. mRNA from the molecules of tRNA
  • D. A strand of DNA from mRNA template

Explanation

RNA polymerase does not synthesize DNA from an mRNA template; that process is called reverse transcription and is carried out by the enzyme reverse transcriptase, not RNA polymerase, option D is incorrect. It also does not make mRNA from tRNA molecules because tRNA is used in translation, not as a template for RNA synthesis, and no biological system uses tRNA to produce mRNA hence option C is also incorrect. RNA polymerase likewise cannot synthesize a polypeptide from an mRNA template; polypeptides are made during translation by ribosomes, not by RNA polymerase. The only correct function of RNA polymerase is to synthesize mRNA from a DNA template during transcription, where it reads the DNA sequence and builds a complementary RNA strand. Option A is the correct answer.

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About Ribonucleic Acid (RNA)

Ribonucleic acid is generally a single-stranded nucleic acid containing ribose and uracil instead of thymine. Coverage includes mRNA, tRNA and rRNA, complementary base pairing, transcription and translation, and the differences between RNA and DNA in structure, location and biological function.

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