RNA polymerase reads the DNA strand from the 3 - prime ( 3 ' ) end to the 5 - prime ( 5 ' ) end .
RNA polymerase synthesizes a single strand of messenger RNA in the 5 ' - to - 3 ' direction .
RNA polymerase reads the DNA strand from the 3 - prime ( 3 ' ) end to the 5 - prime ( 5 ' ) end , while it synthesizes a single strand of messenger RNA in the 5 ' - to - 3 ' direction .