Final answer:
The central dogma of biology outlines the flow of genetic information from DNA to mRNA to protein, primarily through the processes of transcription and translation. Transcription makes an RNA copy of a gene, and translation uses that RNA to build a protein.
Step-by-step explanation:
Central Dogma of Molecular Biology
The central dogma of molecular biology describes the flow of genetic information in cells from DNA to RNA to protein. The genetic information is first transcribed into messenger RNA (mRNA) during transcription, and then the mRNA is translated into a protein during translation.
Transcription
Transcription is the process by which a segment of DNA is copied into mRNA. This occurs when the cell needs a particular protein, and the gene responsible for that protein is activated. As the DNA is transcribed, nucleotides are matched to synthesize the single-stranded mRNA molecule.
Translation
Translation is the process whereby the sequence of the mRNA is used to dictate the correct order of amino acids that make up the protein. This involves reading the mRNA nucleotides in groups of three, known as codons, with each codon corresponding to one specific amino acid. Thus, a protein's structure is determinate by the nucleotide sequence of the gene.