What two processes must take place in order to go from a gene to a protein?

Most genes contain the information needed to make functional molecules called proteins. (A few genes produce other molecules that help the cell assemble proteins.) The journey from gene to protein is complex and tightly controlled within each cell. It consists of two major steps: transcription and translation. Together, transcription and translation are known as gene expression.

During the process of transcription, the information stored in a gene's DNA is transferred to a similar molecule called RNA (ribonucleic acid) in the cell nucleus. Both RNA and DNA are made up of a chain of nucleotide bases, but they have slightly different chemical properties. The type of RNA that contains the information for making a protein is called messenger RNA (mRNA) because it carries the information, or message, from the DNA out of the nucleus into the cytoplasm.

Translation, the second step in getting from a gene to a protein, takes place in the cytoplasm. The mRNA interacts with a specialized complex called a ribosome, which "reads" the sequence of mRNA bases. Each sequence of three bases, called a codon, usually codes for one particular amino acid. (Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.) A type of RNA called transfer RNA (tRNA) assembles the protein, one amino acid at a time. Protein assembly continues until the ribosome encounters a “stop” codon (a sequence of three bases that does not code for an amino acid).

The flow of information from DNA to RNA to proteins is one of the fundamental principles of molecular biology. It is so important that it is sometimes called the “central dogma.”

Through the processes of transcription and translation, information from genes is used to make proteins.

the menstrual cycle – higher tier. negative feedback mechanisms affect the production of hormones in the menstrual cycle. oestrogen also stimulates the release of lh (luteinising hormone) from the pituitary gland, which in turn controls the production of progesterone.

the nitrogen cycle provides nitrogen to the ecosystem from the atmosphere, ground and oceans. nitrogen is an important component of complex molecules such as amino acids and nucleotides, which lead to the creation of proteins and dna, the building blocks of all life. plants absorb nitrogen in the form of ammonium, nitrate ion and, on rare occasions, as amino acids. animals receive nitrogen necessary for biological processes from feeding on living or dead organic matter.