Which component is primarily responsible for carrying genetic information during transcription?

During transcription, the primary component responsible for carrying genetic information is messenger RNA, or mRNA. This process involves the synthesis of mRNA from a DNA template. During transcription, specific segments of DNA are unwound and read by RNA polymerase, an enzyme that synthesizes mRNA by assembling nucleotides complementary to the DNA template strand.

mRNA serves as a crucial intermediary that conveys genetic instructions from the DNA in the nucleus to the ribosomes, where protein synthesis occurs. Essentially, mRNA encodes the information necessary for building proteins, making it vital for gene expression.

In contrast, transfer RNA (tRNA) functions in the translation phase by bringing amino acids to the ribosome, while ribosomal RNA (rRNA) forms a structural and catalytic component of the ribosome itself. DNA, although the source of the genetic information, is not the molecule that carries the information to be translated into proteins during the transcription process; it remains in the nucleus. Thus, mRNA is the correct answer as it is the molecule directly synthesized during transcription that carries the genetic code.