Which strand is transcribed and ultimately used in translation?

The strand that is transcribed and ultimately used in translation is the antisense strand. During the process of transcription, RNA polymerase binds to the antisense strand of DNA and synthesizes a complementary RNA molecule, which is a messenger RNA (mRNA). This mRNA is then used in translation to synthesize proteins.

The antisense strand serves as a template for this process because it has a sequence complementary to the resulting RNA. Therefore, the mRNA produced is essentially a copy of the sense strand (also known as the coding strand), but with uracil in place of thymine. This role of the antisense strand in providing the necessary template for RNA synthesis is crucial for gene expression, allowing the cell to produce proteins according to the genetic information encoded in the DNA.

The sense strand and the coding strand refer to the same aspect of the DNA and are not directly involved in the transcription process. The template strand directly refers to the DNA strand that serves as the template for RNA synthesis, which is essentially synonymous with the antisense strand. The non-coding strand typically refers to the strand that does not code for proteins, which overlaps with the functions of the antisense and template strands, further clarifying the terminology used in genetics.