gene
Sign in to saveIn biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protein-coding genes and non-coding genes. During gene expression (the synthesis of RNA or protein from a gene), DNA is first copied into RNA. RNA can be directly functional or be the intermediate template for the synthesis of a protein.
AI overview
A gene is a unit of heredity that contains the instructions for traits passed from parents to offspring, and at the molecular level, it's a specific sequence of DNA that gets copied into RNA. Genes matter because they direct the production of RNA and proteins that control how our bodies develop and function.
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Article
31 sectionsContents
- Definitions
- History
- Discovery of discrete inherited units
- Discovery of DNA
- Modern synthesis and its successors
- Molecular basis
- DNA
- Chromosomes
- Structure
- Complexity
- Gene expression
- Genetic code
- Transcription
- Translation
- Regulation
- RNA genes
- Inheritance
- Mendelian inheritance
- DNA replication and cell division
- Molecular inheritance
- Genome
- Number of genes
- Essential genes
- Genetic and genomic nomenclature
- Genetic engineering
- See also
- References
- Citations
- Sources
- Further reading
- External links
In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protein-coding genes and non-coding genes. During gene expression (the synthesis of RNA or protein from a gene), DNA is first copied into RNA. RNA can be directly functional or be the intermediate template for the synthesis of a protein.
The transmission of genes to an organism's offspring is the basis of the inheritance of phenotypic traits from one generation to the next. These genes make up different DNA sequences, together called a genotype, that is specific to every given individual, within the gene pool of the population of a given species. The genotype, along with environmental and developmental factors, ultimately determines the phenotype of the individual.