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Compare RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. RNA polymerase (RNAP or RNApol), also known as DNA-dependent RNA polymerase, is an enzyme that produces primary transcript RNA. In cells, RNAP is necessary for constructing RNA chains using DNA genes as templates, a process called transcription.
Transcription of DNA into RNA is catalyzed by RNA polymerase, which can initiate the synthesis of strands de novo on DNA templates. Unlike RNA polymerases, DNA polymerases cannot initiate chain synthesis de novo; instead, they require a short, preexisting RNA or DNA strand, called a primer, to begin chain growth.