The process of copying genetic information from one strand of DNA into RNA is termed as -
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Transcription
The flow of genetic information is DNA → RNA → protein. The first step, making RNA on a DNA template, is transcription.
Option (1) Replication — Incorrect. Replication is copying DNA into DNA. The whole DNA of the cell is copied before cell division.
Option (2) Translation — Incorrect. Translation is reading the mRNA to make a protein on the ribosome. It comes after transcription.
Option (3) Transcription — Correct. Here only one strand and only a segment of DNA is copied into RNA.
Option (4) Regulation — Incorrect. Regulation is the switching on and off of genes, as in the lac operon. It controls transcription; it is not the copying itself.
Note: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2023 on 10-06-2023 (Slot 3) and on 30-05-2023 (Slot 1).
NCERT Extract:
Transcription – “The process of copying genetic information from one strand of the DNA into RNA is termed as transcription. Here also, the principle of complementarity governs the process of transcription, except the adenosine complements now forms base pair with uracil instead of thymine. However, unlike in the process of replication, which once set in, the total DNA of an organism gets duplicated, in transcription only a segment of DNA and only one of the strands is copied into RNA.”