Genes & Proteins (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Biology): Revision Note

DNA base sequence to amino acid sequence: Extended

The DNA base sequence determines the amino acid sequence in protein

• The DNA code (opens in a new tab) (a series of bases) is converted into proteins (a series of amino acids)

• The process of protein synthesis (opens in a new tab) has two stages:

  • transcription - rewriting the base code of DNA into bases of RNA

  • translation - using RNA base sequence to build amino acids into sequence in a protein

• Therefore, the sequence of bases in a gene determines the sequence of amino acids that make a specific protein

• Different sequences of amino acids give different shapes and functions to protein molecules