Which region of the gene template does RNA polymerase use during elongation?

During the elongation phase of transcription, RNA polymerase utilizes the template strand of DNA to synthesize a complementary RNA molecule. The template strand is one of the two strands of the DNA double helix and serves as the blueprint for RNA synthesis.

As RNA polymerase moves along the template strand, it reads the DNA sequence and incorporates nucleotides into the growing RNA chain based on the complementary base pairing rules: adenine pairs with uracil (in RNA), and cytosine pairs with guanine. This process ensures that the RNA transcript mirrors the genetic information encoded in the template strand, enabling the correct synthesis of proteins later on.

In contrast, the coding strand, while similar in sequence to the RNA (except for the substitution of uracil for thymine), does not directly participate in the synthesis process during elongation. The terminator sequence signals the end of transcription but is not actively involved in the elongation phase. The promoter is a region where RNA polymerase binds to initiate transcription, but it is not utilized during the elongation phase after transcription has begun.