What happens to the mRNA after it has been processed in the nucleus?

After mRNA has been processed in the nucleus, it is indeed transported to the ribosome for translation. This processing includes capping, polyadenylation, and splicing, which together prepare the mRNA for its journey outside the nucleus. Once the mRNA is fully processed, the nuclear envelope's pores allow it to exit the nucleus and enter the cytoplasm, where ribosomes are located.

At the ribosome, the mRNA serves as a template for protein synthesis, where the sequence of nucleotides in the mRNA is translated into a sequence of amino acids, ultimately forming a protein. This step is crucial for the expression of genes into functional proteins, thus translating the genetic instructions stored in DNA into the active machinery of the cell.

The other options, while they describe potential events, do not accurately represent the typical fate of processed mRNA in a eukaryotic cell. For example, immediate degradation of mRNA would be counterproductive as cells need to utilize the synthesized mRNAs for protein production. Similarly, if mRNA were to stay in the nucleus permanently, it would not fulfill its role in protein synthesis. Further splicing typically occurs prior to the final processing steps rather than after the mRNA has been fully processed and