ABSTRACT
This chapter will describe the genetic features within DNA that are called genes. When most people think of DNA, they tend to think of the genes that it carries. These are the features that in human beings determine genetic traits like eye color, hair color, and blood type. In bacteria, DNA also contains genes, portions of the double helix that determine bacterial genetic traits like shape and size. Not every nucleotide within DNA is part of a gene, but genes are abundant and major features, responsible for the proteins within the cell. In this chapter, we will explore terms and concepts that relate to genes, including their purpose and how they are expressed. It is important to understand what a gene is, how it is defined, how it can be recognized in a DNA sequence, how it can be interpreted, and the ways in which its expression can be modulated, because genes are often a major focus in the study of bacterial genetics and genomics.
