Final answer:
The central dogma of molecular biology is that genetic information in a cell flows from DNA to RNA to Protein, through the processes of transcription and translation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The central dogma of molecular biology refers to the flow of genetic information within a biological system. It can be summarized by the sequence: DNA → RNA → Protein. This principle highlights two major processes: transcription and translation. During transcription, the genetic instructions in a gene's DNA are transcribed to produce a complementary mRNA molecule. The process of translation then uses the sequence of the mRNA to dictate the order of amino acids in a protein, effectively turning the genetic code into a functional product.
What is the Central Dogma?
The central dogma states that genetic information flows from DNA to RNA, which is then used to produce proteins. This principle provides the basis for understanding how genes encoded in DNA are expressed as the proteins that perform crucial functions in the cell.
Transcription and Translation Overview
During transcription, a segment of DNA is copied into RNA, specifically mRNA, by the enzyme RNA polymerase. In translation, that mRNA then serves as a template to assemble a protein, with the ribosome facilitating the addition of amino acids according to the sequence of nucleotide triplets, or codons, on the mRNA. Each codon corresponds to a specific amino acid.