The information a living organism needs is embedded in the genes found in the genetic material (DNA) of that organism. These information, however, are stored in the DNA and needs to be used to produce useful products (usually proteins). This process is called GENE EXPRESSION. Gene expression occurs in two steps; transcription and translation.
Transcription is the process whereby the information in the DNA is copied into a RNA molecule. It involves synthesizing a complementary strand of mRNA from a DNA template. This mRNA is then used as a template to direct the production of sequence of amino acids, which determines the protein. Transcription occurs in the nucleus of eukaryotes while it occurs in the cytoplasm of prokaryotes. Translation occurs in the cytoplasm of both prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
