Where does transcription occur in eukaryotic cells?

Transcription in eukaryotic cells occurs in the nucleus. This is the compartment of the cell where the DNA is housed, and it is in this environment that the process of synthesizing RNA from a DNA template takes place.

During transcription, the enzyme RNA polymerase binds to a specific region of the DNA and unwinds the double helix to initiate the synthesis of messenger RNA (mRNA). This mRNA then undergoes various modifications, such as 5' capping, polyadenylation, and splicing, before being exported from the nucleus into the cytoplasm for translation into proteins.

While mitochondria do carry out their own transcription of mitochondrial DNA, the primary site of transcription for nuclear genes is indeed the nucleus. Cytoplasm is where translation happens, and ribosomes are the sites of protein synthesis, not transcription. Thus, recognizing the nucleus as the key site for this process clarifies why it is the correct answer.