Question

How many DNA strands are read simultaneously by RNA polymerase during bacterial transcription?

Options

• The number of strands read depends on gene length

• Only one strand (the template strand) is read at a time

• Both strands are read simultaneously

• All three available strands are read

Answer 1

Only one strand, the template strand, is read by RNA polymerase at a time during bacterial transcription. The non-template strand (coding strand) is not directly read by the enzyme. The template strand serves as the complementary template for synthesizing the new RNA molecule through Watson-Crick base pairing.