RNA Synthesis

The synthesis of RNA is usually catalyzed by an enzyme RNA polymerase using DNA as a template, a process known as transcription. The transcription initiation starts by fixing the enzyme to a DNA promoter sequence (usually "upstream" of a gene). The DNA double helix is unwound by the helicase enzyme activity. The enzyme then progresses along the template strand in the 3 'to 5', the synthesis of a complementary RNA molecule with elongation occurring in the 5 'to 3'. The DNA sequence also dictates where termination of RNA synthesis occurs [17].