Verified answer

In DNA replication the DNA makes an exact copy of itself, while transcription is the production of RNA using the DNA as a template.

DNA replication involves unzipping the double helix with helicase and attaching a RNA primer with primase, and DNA polymerase III attaches nucleotides to the primers on the leading strand, and the lagging strand is built with okazaki fragments that are joined together with DNA ligase. Topoisomerase straightens out the DNA strand as it is being unzipped and single-strand binding proteins hold the DNA template in place while it is being copied. Transcription involves the the building of an mRNA and does not require helicase to unzip the DNA double helix. In the initiation step, RNA polymerase attaches to the promoter region and the DNA strands unwind and RNA polymerase transcribes the mRNA strand, called the elongation phase. The mRNA strand comes out while it is still being transcribed, and the DNA double helix is rewound after RNA polymerase passes it. In the termination stage, the RNA transcript (mRNA) is released and the RNA polymerase detaches from the DNA strand.