Each DNA molecule contains many genes. A gene is a specific sequence of base pairs (bases, or “letters”) that contains the information requ...
Each DNA molecule contains many genes. A gene is a specific sequence of base pairs (bases, or “letters”) that contains the information required for constructing a protein (in most cases).The proteins encoded by the genes provide the structural components of the cell as well as enzymes for essential biochemical reactions.
In other words, proteins are not just in the food we eat, they are the building blocks of life and are main components of our cells.
Genes are the “words” in our genome “encyclopedia” that form the instructions for constructing these proteins.
The human genome is estimated to comprise approximately 30,000 genes, while different bacteria can have as few as approximately 500 genes, or as many as 6000 genes or more.
Proteins are large, complex molecules made up of long chains of subunits called amino acids. Twenty different kinds of amino acids are usually found in proteins.
So how can we build proteins comprising up to 20 different amino acids, if the code within genes for building them only comprises 4 bases?
Well, it turns out that special proteins in our cells examine the genes’ code in “triplets” of three base pairs at a time.
Each “triplet” of three base pairs codes for a particular amino acid. The genetic code to make a given protein is thus a series of “triplets” of three bases in a gene that specify which amino acids are required to make up specific proteins.
A collection of triplets that make up a protein is called a gene, and the collection of genes that make an organism is called its genome.
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