Final answer:
The term 'gene expression' refers to the process through which a gene sequence is used to produce functional products like proteins, affecting an organism’s traits or phenotype. It consists of transcription and translation, which are regulated to maintain proper function and adaptability. Misregulation can lead to diseases.
Step-by-step explanation:
The process of using a gene sequence to affect the characteristics of cells and organisms is called gene expression. Gene expression is the process by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product, typically protein, but also rRNA, tRNA, or snRNA. It involves two main steps: transcription, where the DNA is copied into messenger RNA (mRNA), and translation, where the mRNA is used as a template to form a protein.
Gene expression is regulated within cells, and it is crucial for the adaptation to different environments and the development and maintenance of the organism's phenotype. The regulation of gene expression includes various mechanisms such as the transcriptional level, post-transcriptional modifications, mRNA stability, and translational and post-translational control. These regulatory mechanisms ensure that genes are expressed at the right time, in the right cell, to the correct extent. A failure in this regulation can lead to diseases such as cancer.
The observable traits expressed by an organism are described as its phenotype, which is directly influenced by gene expression. Transcriptomics is a field of study within biology that focuses specifically on the collection of mRNA molecules in a cell, reflecting the genes that are being actively expressed at any given moment.