Unit 3: What is the role of DNA?

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a molecule that carries most of the genetic instructions used in the development, functioning and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses

genetic code

Is the set of rules by which information encoded in genetic material (DNA or RNA sequences) is translated into proteins (amino acid sequences) by living cells

RNA

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule implicated in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation, and expression of genes

Chargaff's Rule

States that DNA from any cell of all organisms should have a 1:1 ratio (base Pair Rule) of pyrimidine and purine bases and, more specifically, that the amount of guanine is equal to cytosine and the amount of adenine is equal to thymine

protein

any of a class of nitrogenous organic compounds that consist of large molecules composed of one or more long chains of amino acids and are an essential part of all living organisms, especially as structural components of body tissues such as muscle, hair, collagen, etc., and as enzymes and antibodies

codon

is a sequence of three DNA or RNA nucleotides that corresponds with a specific amino acid or stop signal during protein synthesis

transcription

is the first step of gene expression, in which a particular segment of DNA is copied into RNA (mRNA) by the enzyme RNA polymerase

translation

is the process in which cellular ribosomes create proteins. In translation, messenger RNA (mRNA)—produced by transcription from DNA—is decoded by a ribosome to produce a specific amino acid chain, or polypeptide