RNA stands for ribonucleic acid and is one of the nucleic acids, the other being DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid. RNA is a polymer made up of monomer units, known as the nucleotides and contains 4 nucleobases: adenine, cytosine, guanine and uracil. RNA plays a number of roles in the cell, most notably, protein synthesis.
There are 3 main types of RNA molecules: messenger RNA (or mRNA), transfer RNA (or tRNA) and ribosomal RNA (or rRNA). Messenger RNA is responsible for carrying the genetic information of the protein (amino acid sequence) that needs to be manufactured to the cell cytoplasm. Transfer RNA or tRNAs are responsible for bringing the amino acid to ribosomes for protein synthesis. Ribosomal RNA or rRNA (along with ribosomal proteins) form the ribosomes, which act as the protein synthesis machinery of the cell.
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