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Wize University Biochemistry Textbook > Fundamental Concepts of Biochemistry

Central dogma of molecular biology

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The Central Dogma of Biology

This is a central point of biology. It explains how our genome can encode the information for proteins that ultimately carry out functions in biological systems.
  • DNA stores information in genes.
  • Genes are transcribed by RNA Polymerase to messenger RNA (mRNA). mRNA is an intermediate between the gene and the protein.
  • There are other kinds of RNA that can be transcribed from DNA that are capable of carrying out functions themselves, without being translated into proteins. They include ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and tRNA (involved in translation).
  • The mRNA is translated by the ribosome into a protein. Proteins then carry out many of the essential functions within a cell.


Photo by Daniel Horspool / CC BY


Exam Tip
TL;DR: DNA encodes RNA, RNA encodes protein.