Messenger RNA

Messenger RNA is a nucleic acid transcript that carries protein-coding information from DNA to ribosomes, where its sequence guides protein synthesis.

Transcription: The synthesis of RNA from a DNA template by RNA polymerase. It produces messenger RNA by copying a gene’s DNA sequence.
RNA: A nucleic acid usually made of single-stranded chains of ribonucleotides. Messenger RNA is one functional class of RNA.
mRNA vaccine: A vaccine that delivers messenger RNA encoding an antigen for cells to produce. It uses introduced messenger RNA to prompt an immune response against an encoded antigen.
Transfer RNA: An RNA molecule that carries an amino acid to the ribosome and pairs its anticodon with an mRNA codon. Unlike messenger RNA, it delivers amino acids rather than encoding their sequence.
RNA polymerase II: The eukaryotic enzyme that transcribes protein-coding genes and several classes of noncoding RNA. It synthesizes the primary transcripts that become most eukaryotic messenger RNAs.
Nucleotide: A molecular unit consisting of a nitrogenous base, a sugar, and one or more phosphate groups. Messenger RNA is a chain of ribonucleotides.
COVID-19 vaccine: A vaccine designed to induce immunity against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Several widely used COVID-19 vaccines deliver messenger RNA encoding the viral spike protein.
Ribosomal RNA: RNA molecules that form the structural and catalytic core of ribosomes. Ribosomal RNA builds the machinery that reads messenger RNA.
RNA splicing: The removal of introns and joining of exons in a eukaryotic RNA transcript. Splicing edits many messenger RNA precursors before they are translated.
Genetic code: The mapping between nucleotide triplets in messenger RNA and amino acids or translation signals. It determines how ribosomes interpret messenger RNA codons.

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