RNA is a nucleic acid consisting of a long chain of nucleotides that help assemble genetic code
RNA uses DNA to make proteins and helps determine an organism's characteristics
RNA is single-stranded, contains uracil, and sugar ribose
DNA is double-stranded, contains thymine, and deoxyribose
messenger RNA (mRNA): carries copies of instructions from the nucleus to ribosomes in the cytoplasm
RNA synthesis involves transcription, where a base sequence is copied from DNA to RNA
Segments of DNA act as templates to produce complementary RNA molecules
RNA polymerase is the enzyme responsible for transcription, binding to DNA, separating it, and using one strand of DNA as a template for a complementary RNA strand
This process allows one gene to produce hundreds to thousands of RNA molecules
Promoters are where RNA polymerase binds to DNA to start the transcription process
Other DNA regions cause transcription to stop when an RNA molecule is completed
RNA editing occurs at the pre-mRNA stage, where introns (portions that are cut out and discarded) are removed in the nucleus
The remaining pieces, known as exons, are spliced back together to form the final mRNA
RNA editing plays a small but important role in evolution
Ribosomal RNA (rRNA): proteins are assembled on ribosomes, small organelles with two subunits
Transfer RNA (tRNA): carries amino acids to the ribosome during protein assembly and matches them to the coded mRNA message