What does the central dogma of molecular biology state?

What does the central dogma of molecular biology state?

• A. A theory stating that genetic information flows only in one direction, from protein to DNA to RNA.
• B. A theory stating that genetic information can flow from RNA to DNA to protein.
• C. A theory stating that genetic information flows from DNA to RNA to protein.
• D. A theory stating that genetic information flows from protein to RNA to DNA.

Answer: (C)

At this topic’s heart is how genetic information moves from storage to function: from DNA to RNA to protein. DNA holds the genetic code; transcription uses an RNA polymerase to make messenger RNA from a DNA template, producing an RNA copy of the instructions. Then ribosomes read that mRNA and, with transfer RNAs bringing amino acids, translate the sequence into a polypeptide chain that folds into a protein. This flow—DNA to RNA to protein—explains why genes are expressed as functional proteins that drive cellular processes. There are special cases, such as reverse transcription in some viruses, where RNA is used to make DNA, but the usual pattern in biology is the direction from DNA to RNA to protein.

At this topic’s heart is how genetic information moves from storage to function: from DNA to RNA to protein. DNA holds the genetic code; transcription uses an RNA polymerase to make messenger RNA from a DNA template, producing an RNA copy of the instructions. Then ribosomes read that mRNA and, with transfer RNAs bringing amino acids, translate the sequence into a polypeptide chain that folds into a protein. This flow—DNA to RNA to protein—explains why genes are expressed as functional proteins that drive cellular processes. There are special cases, such as reverse transcription in some viruses, where RNA is used to make DNA, but the usual pattern in biology is the direction from DNA to RNA to protein.