Answer:
serving as the basic unit of genetic information during transcription and translation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Codons are used in the central dogma as the basic unit of information in the process of gene expression. The central dogma is a concept in molecular biology that describes the flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to proteins.
In the first step of the central dogma, the information stored in DNA is transcribed into RNA. This process is called transcription and it occurs in the cell's nucleus. During transcription, the DNA code is read in groups of three nucleotides called codons. Each codon corresponds to a specific amino acid, the building blocks of proteins.
The RNA molecule produced during transcription is called messenger RNA (mRNA). The mRNA carries the genetic information from the DNA to the ribosomes, where it is translated into a protein. This process is called translation.
During translation, the mRNA is read in groups of three nucleotides called codons. Each codon corresponds to a specific amino acid, and the sequence of codons determines the sequence of amino acids in the protein. The ribosomes read the mRNA codons and add the corresponding amino acids to the growing protein chain.
Overall, codons play a crucial role in the central dogma by serving as the basic unit of genetic information during transcription and translation.