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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Nucleic Acids and Nuclear Proteins

subject

description

DNA deserves the most attention in any book dealing with molecular variety in animals. The complete genetic information of the organism is encoded in the order of the bases, and with it also is the whole spectrum of genetically determined variation within and between individuals. One can view DNA as a text in which each of the four letters at each position has a unique meaning. Some information and variety is lost en route from the DNA via RNA to the proteins and the complex morphological and physiological characters because only part of the DNA is transcribed into RNA, and not all RNA codes for proteins; furthermore, the genetic code is degenerate and the 64 possible triplet codons define only 20 amino acids. Sequence differences between proteins may also have no consequences for complex phenotypic characters. On the other hand, new (epigenetic) variability can arise during the information transfer process as a result of environmental factors.