Proteins

• Genes


  Basic hereditary units passed down from parent to offspring that contain information about an organism's traits
• Alleles


  Different variations of a single gene
• DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid)


  A macromolecule that is a giant cookbook of genetic information
• DNA


  • Consists of subunits called nucleotides represented by A, T, C, and G
  • Genes are specific segments of nucleotides within the long DNA molecule
• Proteins


  • Made of long sequences or chains of amino acids
  • Genes provide instructions for how to create these chains
• Different alleles


  Encode different proteins
• Functions of proteins


  • Growth
  • Sending messages
  • Catalyzing chemical reactions
  • Providing structure
• Cell specialization


  When different cells specialize in different functions based on unique combinations of proteins
• All cells in an organism contain the same DNA and genes, but have different protein combinations