How are DNA sequences used to make proteins?
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In a two-step process, DNA instructions are employed to build proteins. First, enzymes read the information in a DNA molecule and transcribe it into a molecule known as messenger ribonucleic acid, or mRNA.
The information in the mRNA molecule is then translated into the "language" of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. This language instructs the cell's protein-making machinery on the precise order in which amino acids should be linked to generate a certain protein. This is a difficult undertaking since there are 20 distinct types of amino acids that may be combined in a number of ways to make a vast range of proteins.
