messenger RNA

American  

noun

Genetics.

1. a single-stranded molecule of RNA that is synthesized in the nucleus from a DNA template and then enters the cytoplasm, where its genetic code specifies the amino acid sequence for protein synthesis. mRNA

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messenger RNA British  

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: mRNA.  biochem a form of RNA, transcribed from a single strand of DNA, that carries genetic information required for protein synthesis from DNA to the ribosomes See also transfer RNA genetic code

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messenger RNA Scientific  

/ mĕs′ən-jər /

1. See under RNA

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Etymology

Origin of messenger RNA

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

An mRNA vaccine uses messenger RNA to get your cells to make a piece of a virus that is harmless.

From The Wall Street Journal

Their results build on more than a decade of work exploring how messenger RNA could be used to "wake up" the body's natural defenses.

From Science Daily

Using messenger RNA as an intermediary in their actions, the vaccines instruct the body how to manufacture parts of a pathogen that its immune system can recognize and fight.

From Los Angeles Times

A cell transcribes the ORF sequence into messenger RNA, which travels to cellular factories called ribosomes that assemble amino acid sequences into proteins.

From Science Magazine

Those vaccines worked by delivering a payload in the form of messenger RNA, which are nucleic acids.

From Science Daily