ABSTRACT
In the last two chapters, we provided an introduction to DNA and proteins. The DNA contained in the genome of an organism primarily codes instructions for making proteins. Recall from the last chapter that there are only four DNA bases A, G, C, T and so an instruction written out in the language of DNA is basically an instruction written out in a language that has a 4-letter alphabet. Proteins, on the other hand, are made up of amino acids linked together by peptide bonds. Since there are 20 possible amino acids that occur in nature, the amino acid sequence for a protein can be thought of as a biological message written out using letters from a 20-letter alphabet. The natural question that comes up is how does the DNA message coded in the 4-letter alphabet map into the amino acid sequence of the appropriate protein. In this chapter, we will provide a detailed answer to this question.
