Genetic Materials and Genetic Code
Watson and Crick showing the three dimensional model of DNA prepared using metal scraps Genetic Materials Genetic material is the substance that is transmitted from one generation to the next generation to express its parental characters. The genetic material has following three main properties: It replicates and inherits to the offspring. It carries out all the information necessary for the function of a cell. It changes its sequence by mutation. Nucleic acids are the genetic materials in living organisms. In most of the organisms, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the genetic material except some viruses like retroviruses. Retroviruses have RNA (ribonucleic acid) as the genetic material. Concept of Gene and Central Dogma of Molecular Biology Gene is a segment of DNA molecule which encodes a character of an organism. The term gene was coined by a Danish Geneticist, Wilhelm Johannsen in 1909 from the Greek word ‘genesis’ meaning ‘to be born’. The gene transmits individual traits or...