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Dna as genetic information |
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DNA as genetic information DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, to be exact, is the chemical bearer of genetic information. DNA is a very large self-replicating linear molecule found in all living cells, it is the physical carrier of genetic information. A DNA molecule is composed of two complementary chains of deoxyribonucleotide subunits. The functional units of DNA are genes. Most genes are made up of DNA arranged in a Watson–Crick right-handed “double helix”. ... A gene is a unit of biological function at the genetic level. ... In other words, a gene is a length of DNA that carries the genetic code for a single protein; genes exist in a linear array on chromosomes. At the molecular level a single gene consists of a length of DNA which exerts its influence on the organism’s form and function, by encoding and directing the synthesis of a protein. ... DNA and RNA (Ribonucleic acid) are both long polymers - chains of small compounds called nucleotides. The sequence of nucleotides in a typical gene is a genetic code that carries the information for making a protein. Each nucleotide is composed of a sugar, a phosphate group and a base, a series of 5’ to 3’ phosphate linkages holds the nucleotides together along the length of the polymer (Figure 1) A point about the bases: DNA and RNA are composed of two different classes of nitrogenous bases, the purines and the pyrimidines. The two most occurring purines in DNA are adenine and guanine, and the common pyrimidines are cytosine and thymine. ... Bases always pair together in a precise way: in DNA, adenine (A) always pairs with thymine (T) and cytosine (C) always pairs with guanine (G), this is what is known as the Watson-Crick pairing. ... The complementary nature of the two antiparallel DNA strands in a gene allows them to replicate faithfully. The copying process in which a single DNA molecule becomes two identical molecules is called replication. When DNA is copied, the double helix of each molecule unwinds, the weak hydrogen bonds between the DNA bases easily break down. |
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Title: Dna as genetic information
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