Transcription
- The DNA strands "unzips" by the helicase.
- Enzymes match RNA nucleotides to the unzipped nitrogen bases of the gene, forming a single strand of mRNA.
- The strand of mRNA detaches from the gene and goes out of the nucleus through one of the pores in the nuclear envelope. The DNA zips back together and winds back up.
- The mRNA finds a ribosome where protein synthesis will happen.
Translation
- The DNA strands "unzips" by the helicase.
- One strand is used as a template to copy DNA.
- Nucleotides line up along the DNA strand by specific base pairing.
- The new strand formed is a messenger RNA. It then moves out of the nucleus through the nuclear poles heading for the ribosomes ready for translation.
- The DNA strands regain their hydrogen bonds and coil into a double helix again.
