Which term describes the turning on of a gene to produce its product?

Which term describes the turning on of a gene to produce its product?

• A. Transcription
• B. Expression
• C. Translation
• D. Replication

Answer: (B)

Expression is the term for when a gene is activated to produce its product. It describes the overall process by which a gene’s information is used to make something functional, typically a protein or a molecule of RNA. Transcription is the step that makes RNA from DNA, and translation is the step that builds a protein from that RNA; both are parts of expression but don’t by themselves define the activation of the gene. Replication, on the other hand, copies DNA for cell division and is not about producing gene products.

Expression is the term for when a gene is activated to produce its product. It describes the overall process by which a gene’s information is used to make something functional, typically a protein or a molecule of RNA. Transcription is the step that makes RNA from DNA, and translation is the step that builds a protein from that RNA; both are parts of expression but don’t by themselves define the activation of the gene. Replication, on the other hand, copies DNA for cell division and is not about producing gene products.