What role does messenger RNA (mRNA) play in the cell?

Messenger RNA (mRNA) plays a crucial role as a template for protein synthesis in the cell. This process begins with transcription, where a specific segment of DNA is copied into mRNA. Once synthesized, the mRNA travels from the nucleus to the ribosome, the cellular machinery responsible for translating this genetic information into proteins.

During translation, the ribosome reads the sequence of nucleotides in the mRNA and uses that information to assemble amino acids in the correct order, forming a polypeptide chain. The specific sequence of the mRNA dictates the order of amino acids in the resulting protein, which ultimately determines the protein's structure and function essential for various cellular activities.

The other options do not accurately describe the function of mRNA. Lipid transport is mainly facilitated by lipoproteins, genetic information is stored in DNA rather than mRNA, and enzymatic reactions are catalyzed by proteins or RNA enzymes like ribozymes, not mRNA itself. Hence, the primary role of mRNA is indeed as a template for protein synthesis.