In the context of transcription, which statement best describes how RNA polymerase differs from DNA polymerase?

• A. RNA polymerase can initiate synthesis de novo (without a primer), whereas DNA polymerase generally requires a primer to begin synthesis.
• B. RNA polymerase reads the template strand in the $3\to 5$ direction and synthesizes RNA in the $5\to 3$ direction, whereas DNA polymerase reads the template in the opposite direction.
• C. RNA polymerase synthesizes DNA strands using deoxyribonucleotides, whereas DNA polymerase synthesizes RNA strands using ribonucleotides.
• D. RNA polymerase requires helicase to unwind DNA at the transcription start site, whereas DNA polymerase unwinds DNA without additional factors.

Answer: (A)