Ribonucleic acid (RNA), like deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), is a polymer of nucleotides that is essential to cellular protein synthesis. Unlike DNA, RNA is a single-stranded structure containing the sugar moiety ribose (instead of deoxyribose) and the base uracil (instead of thymine). While DNA stores the genetic information, RNA generally carries out the instructions encoded in the DNA but RNA also executes diverse non-coding functions. There are 3 major types of RNA that perform different but collaborative roles in protein synthesis: messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and ribosomal RNA (rRNA). During transcription, RNA is synthesized from DNA through a series of steps catalyzed by the enzyme RNA polymerase. The mRNA formed will serve as an amino acid template for protein synthesis. Translation proceeds with the tRNA transporting the corresponding amino acid based on the deciphered nucleotide sequence (codon) in the mRNA. The ribosomes, which are composed of rRNA, then facilitate the assembly of amino acids into a polypeptide. These components work together to convert the mRNA template obtained from DNA into the desired protein.