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'''RNA polymerases''', often abbreviated to '''RNAP''', are the enzymes in a cell responsible for [[transcription|synthesizing]] strands of [[RNA]]. Because this function is essential to life, all organisms (and quite a few viruses) contain at least one type of RNA polymerase (most organisms contain at least three types). Depending on the RNA polymerase, transcription requires either a [[DNA]] or an RNA template; although, in most contexts, "RNA polymerase" refers to the DNA-dependant RNA polymerases that use a DNA template to [[transcribe|transcription]] genes into [[mRNA]] ("messenger" RNA). [[reverse transcriptase|Reverse transcriptases]] are enzymes (usually associated with [[retrovirus|retroviruses]])that perform the opposite function, using an RNA template to synthesize a [[DNA]] product.