Final answer:
The process where RNA serves as a template for DNA synthesis with the help of reverse transcriptase is known as transformation, which is characteristic of retroviruses like HIV. The correct option is D).
Step-by-step explanation:
The question relates to the biological process that occurs when RNA serves as a template for DNA synthesis. The correct answer is D) Transformation. During transformation, RNA-dependent DNA polymerase, also known as reverse transcriptase, synthesizes a complementary DNA molecule from an RNA template.
This process is distinct from transcription, where RNA polymerase synthesizes RNA from a DNA template, and translation, where the sequence of mRNA is used to assemble a protein.
Reverse transcriptase is brought into a cell by viruses like HIV, and it is an enzyme unique to retroviruses since cells typically do not use RNA templates to synthesize DNA. Option D) is the correct one.