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The total complement of genes in an organism or cell is known as its genome, which may be stored on one or more chromosomes. A chromosome consists of a single, very long DNA helix on which thousands of genes are encoded. [51]: 4.2 The region of the chromosome at which a particular gene is located is called its locus.
Genomic DNA is tightly and orderly packed in the process called DNA condensation, to fit the small available volumes of the cell. In eukaryotes, DNA is located in the cell nucleus, with small amounts in mitochondria and chloroplasts. In prokaryotes, the DNA is held within an irregularly shaped body in the cytoplasm called the nucleoid. [97]
DNA replication also works by using a DNA template, the DNA double helix unwinds during replication, exposing unpaired bases for new nucleotides to hydrogen bond to. Gene synthesis, however, does not require a DNA template and genes are assembled de novo. DNA synthesis occurs in all eukaryotes and prokaryotes, as well as some viruses. The ...
Except red blood cells, which lack a cell nucleus and most organelles to accommodate maximum space for hemoglobin, all cells possess DNA, the hereditary material of genes, and RNA, containing the information necessary to build various proteins such as enzymes, the cell's primary machinery.
A segment of DNA. Genes are like sentences made of the "letters" of the nucleotide alphabet, between them genes direct the physical development and behavior of an organism. Genes are like a recipe or instruction book, providing information that an organism needs so it can build or do something - like making an eye or a leg, or repairing a wound.
The discovery of DNA as the blueprint for life and breakthroughs in molecular genetics research came from the combined works of many scientists. In 1869, chemist Johann Friedrich Miescher, who was researching the composition of white blood cells, discovered and isolated a new molecule that he named nuclein from the cell nucleus, which would ultimately be the first discovery of the molecule DNA ...
This is essential for cell division during growth and repair of damaged tissues, while it also ensures that each of the new cells receives its own copy of the DNA. [5] The cell possesses the distinctive property of division, which makes replication of DNA essential. DNA is made up of a double helix of two complementary strands.
Gene structure is the organisation of specialised sequence elements within a gene. Genes contain most of the information necessary for living cells to survive and reproduce. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] In most organisms, genes are made of DNA, where the particular DNA sequence determines the function of the gene.