Molecular biologists are studying the processes of transcription and translation and have found that they are very similar in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, as summarized in Table 1. Table 1. Comparison of Selected Features of Transcription and Translation
Prokaryotes
Eukaryotes
Present
Synthesized
Cytoplasm
Present
Synthesized
Nucleus
Feature of Protein Synthesis
Transcription
RNA polymerase
mRNA
Location
Translation
Large Ribosomal Subunit
Small Ribosomal Subunit
tRNA
Location
60S
50S
30S
Present
Cytoplasm
40S
Present
Cytoplasm
Based on the information in Table 1, which of the following best predicts a key difference in prokaryotes and eukaryotes with regard to transcription and translation?
The two processes will occur simultaneously in prokaryotes but not eukaryotes
Prokaryotic mRNA is shorter than eukaryotic mRNA
Eukaryotic mRNA contains more coding regions than prokaryotic DNA
The processing of mRNA by eukaryotes is required for the mRNA to leave the nucleus.