Question #92963
1 Answer
DNA is the biological coding needed for organisms to function. DNA contains genes, which are discrete sections of DNA which code for different proteins. These proteins then go on to determine the phenotype which is the physical characteristics of an organism.
Explanation:
DNA is needed in all organisms and in multicellular organisms, the full set of DNA is found in all cells regardless of the function of the cell. The DNA codes for genes which are sections of DNA, the genes are expressed as different proteins according to the base sequence of the DNA. For each gene there may be more than one possible protein made due to the intron splicing that occurs during transcription.
On each gene there are triplets of bases that code for individual amino acids, these amino acids get chained together in the translation process and form a polypeptide chain. These polypeptide chains may then associate with other polypeptide chains to form proteins.
The proteins expressed is what ultimately determines the phenotype as the proteins influence how different processes operate. For example melanin is a protein that influences pigmentation, more melanin means darker skin, hair, eyes etc.
