Amity Institute of Biotechnology

What is the molecular nature of genetic material? How is genetic information transmitted from one generation to the
next with high fidelity? How do the rare changes in genetic material that are the raw material of evolution arise? How
is genetic information ultimately expressed in the amino acid sequences of the astonishing variety of protein
molecules in a living cell?

Today’s understanding of information pathways has arisen from the convergence of genetics, physics, and chemistry in
modern biochemistry. This was epitomized by the discovery of the double-helical structure of DNA, postulated by James
Watson and Francis Crick in 1953

Genetic theory contributed the concept of coding by genes. Physics permitted the determination of molecular structure by
x-ray diffraction analysis. Chemistry revealed the composition of DNA. The profound impact of the Watson-Crick
hypothesis arose from its ability to account for a wide range of observations derived from studies in these diverse
disciplines.

The fundamental unit of information in living systems is the gene. A gene can be defined biochemically
as a segment of DNA (or, in a few cases, RNA) that encodes the information required to produce a functional biological
product. The final product is usually a protein

A functional gene product might also be one of several classes of RNA molecules.
1
Amity Institute of Biotechnology

2
Amity Institute of Biotechnology

3
Amity Institute of Biotechnology

4
Amity Institute of Biotechnology

5
Amity Institute of Biotechnology