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Glite Dictionary
RNA polymerase

RNA polymerase

1 6.3
A protein in cells that makes RNA by copying DNA
  • noun
  • /ɑːrˌɛnˈeɪ pəˈlɪməˌreɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ARN polimerasa
  • What's the rate constant for RNA polymerase binding a promoter?
  • RNA polymerase enzyme

So it takes minutes for the RNA polymerase to transcribe.

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Examples

  • Once it is turned on, the RNA polymerase starts walking down the DNA double Helix, making messenger RNA.

  • So it takes minutes for the RNA polymerase to transcribe.

    MIT OpenCourseWare

  • Animation shows how an RNA polymerase pulls the DNA structure apart and forms an RNA transcript.

    Academic text (1996)

  • Consider, for example, RNA polymerase, an enzyme that moves along DNA to produce a newly synthesized RNA strand—a process called transcription.

    Academic text (2006)

  • The enzyme RNA polymerase is crucial for synthesizing RNA by following the instructions in a DNA sequence.

  • During the process of transcription, RNA polymerase attaches to DNA and begins to create an RNA strand.

  • In cells, RNA polymerase plays a key role by copying DNA sequences to produce messenger RNA.

Synonyms

transcriptase
vsRNA polymerase
  • Specialized
1 9.3

A protein in cells that makes RNA from DNA

is the same enzyme function but uses a different scientific name

Surface Forms

RNA polymerase singular
RNA polymerases plural

Morphology

RNA + polymerase

The compound is directly compositional: 'polymerase' names an enzyme that synthesizes nucleic acids and the modifier 'RNA' straightforwardly specifies the substrate, yielding 'an enzyme that synthesizes RNA'. Although technical, the head–modifier naming pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can derive the meaning.

Etymology

RNA polymerase is named from its parts RNA and polymerase, where polymerase means 'a maker of long chains'. Imagine a small machine that reads DNA like a recipe and 'builds' a long string of RNA, so the name shows it 'makes' RNA.