The document summarizes key differences between transcription in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In prokaryotes, transcription and translation occur simultaneously in the cytoplasm using a single type of RNA polymerase. In eukaryotes, transcription occurs separately from translation in the nucleus using three distinct RNA polymerases and requires numerous transcription factors to initiate transcription. Eukaryotic transcription also involves more complex post-transcriptional processing including splicing of pre-mRNA and alternative splicing to generate multiple mRNA isoforms from a single gene.