BY5: Protein synthesis
DNA also acts as a store of genetic information. Chromosomes are single very long molecules of DNA, divided up along their length into thousands of shorter sections called genes. The DNA base sequence making up a particular gene carries the genetic information needed to make one specific polypeptide chain. This information is called the genetic code. The codes carried by DNA determine what proteins are made inside a cell (and therefore determines what reactions may take place in an organism). Some genes when expressed are important for the formation of enzymes as these are tertiary proteins. So the DNA can determine the characteristics of an organism by determining which enzymes are produced.
DNA also acts as a store of genetic information. Chromosomes are single very long molecules of DNA, divided up along their length into thousands of shorter sections called genes. The DNA base sequence making up a particular gene carries the genetic information needed to make one specific polypeptide chain. This information is called the genetic code. The codes carried by DNA determine what proteins are made inside a cell (and therefore determines what reactions may take place in an organism). Some genes when expressed are important for the formation of enzymes as these are tertiary proteins. So the DNA can determine the characteristics of an organism by determining which enzymes are produced.