Where are genes transcribed?

Genes are transcribed in the nucleus in eukaryotes and in the cytoplasm in prokaryotes. The main purpose of transcription is to synthesize an mRNA molecule using DNA as a template. The mRNA strand that is synthesized in the process is complementary to a strand of DNA. In eukaryotes, the newly synthesized mRNA undergoes processing, after which it moves out into the cytoplasm through the nuclear pores. In the cytoplasm it proceeds with translation, which is the next step of protein synthesis.