Which of the following types of RNA makeup the largest proportion of total cellular RNA?
- A. Messenger RNA
- B. Ribosomal RNA
- C. Transfer RNA
- D. Catalytic RNA (ribozyme)
Explanation
Ribosomal RNA accounts for roughly 80 per cent of the RNA in a cell, because every ribosome is built largely from it and a busy cell contains millions of ribosomes. Transfer RNA comes next at around 15 per cent, and messenger RNA is a small and rapidly turning over fraction. Ribozymes are rarer still.