What is produced during transcription?

• A. DNA polymerase
• B. Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
• C. Transfer RNA (tRNA)
• D. Messenger RNA (mRNA)

Answer: (D)

Transcription is the process of making RNA from a DNA template using RNA polymerase. The molecule produced is RNA, and for genes that code for proteins, this RNA is messenger RNA, which carries the genetic message from the DNA to ribosomes to guide protein synthesis. Therefore the best choice is messenger RNA. While ribosomal RNA and transfer RNA are also made by transcription in the cell, the specific product that directly carries information to make proteins is mRNA. DNA polymerase is involved in copying DNA during replication, not transcription.