Genetics - A. V. Sivolob 2008

The Nature of Genetic Material

As a physical object, a Gene is a segment of a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) polymer molecule. The only exception to this rule, common to All living organisms, is a special Class of Viruses where ribonucleic acid (RNA)—a chemical analogue of DNA—serves as the information carrier. Various types of RNA also participate in the processes of Genetic information expression across all organisms.

The PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF the DNA molecule make it a reliable carrier of hereditary information and provide a simple mechanism for Replication—the precise duplication of the molecule (and thus the hereditary program) in daughter Cells during Cell Division. Numerous interactions that DNA enters into with other molecules (primarily Proteins) determine the specific packaging pattern of DNA within cells, the expression of genetic information and The regulation of this process, as well as the execution of other operations essential for the functioning of The hereditary apparatus.



Last update: 11/08/2026

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