Molecular biology, central dogma

The original Central Dogma of molecular biology (left) and its modification in light of the discovery of viruses (right). 

Sarkar, S. (1996a), Biological information a skeptical look at some central dogmas of molecular biology , in S. Sarkar (Ed.), The Philosophy and History of Molecular Biology New Perspectives, Kluwer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp. 187-231... 

Molecular biology involves the study of the major macromolecules, DNA, RNA, and protein. The central dogma ofmolecular biology is illustrated in Fig. 2. The central dogma shows the relationship among the macromolecules in the processes of transcription and translation. Figure 2 also gives the relationship between immunoelectron microscopy and in situ hybridization. In situ hybridization allows one to localize a specific nucleic acid sequence. Immunoelectron microscopy is an essential component to the technique of in situ hybridization when applied at the EM level. 

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

The central dogma of molecular biology and protein synthesis... 

Francis Crick enunciated the central dogma of molecular biology in 1958 DNA directs its own replication and its transcription to RNA that, in turn, directs its translation to protein. This statement is frequently oversimplified to DNA makes RNA makes protein. ... 

The central dogma of molecular biology was first defined by Francis Crick. See R. Olby, Francis Crick, DNA, and the Central Dogma . Daedalus Fall 1970, pp 970-986. 

Figure 20.18 The central dogma of molecular biology a summary of processes involved inflow of genetic information from DNA to protein. The diagram is a summary of the biochemical processes involved in the flow of genetic information from DNA to protein via RNA intermediates. This concept had to be revised following the discovery of the enzyme, reverse transcriptase, which catalyses information transfer from RNA to DNA (see Chapter 18). It may have to be modified in the future since changes in the fatty acid composition of phospholipids in membranes can modily the properties of proteins, and possibly their functions, independent of the genetic information within the amino acid sequence of the protein (See Chapters 7, 11 and 14).

The central dogma of molecular biology, showing the general pathways of information flow via replication, transcription, and translation. The term "dogma" is a misnomer. Introduced by Francis Crick at a time when little evidence supported these ideas, the dogma has become a well-established principle. 

Crick, F., Central dogma of molecular biology. Nature 227 561-563, 1970. 

Most RNAs function in an information carrying and/or processing mode in the cell. As Chapter 4 of Volume 1 of this series pointed out, the overall information processes of the cell are given in the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology DNA makes RNA makes Protein. RNA is involved as a carrier of information, as translator or adaptor of RNA information into protein information, and as catalyst for the synthesis of the peptide bond. 

Crick, F.H.C. 1970. Central Dogma of molecular biology. Nature, 227, 561-563. 

Crick, F. H. C. (1970). Central dogma of molecular biology. Nature, 227, 561-563. DeGroot, M. H. (1970). Optimal Statistical Decisions. McGraw-Hill, New York. 

The central dogma of molecular biology describes how one form of biological information (an organism s genetic sequence) is processed in terms of DNA replication, RNA transcription, and protein synthesis. However, a related mystery is yet to be worked out in sufficient detail how is the information encoded in the DNA (i.e., genotypes) related to cellular functions (i.e., phenotypes) How do different signals tell different cells to synthesize different proteins ... 

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