Yeast screen uncovers genes involved in chromosomal mutation

When creating a computer program, errors in the code can introduce bugs to the software. Similarly, errors in our body's genetic code, DNA, which is stored in structures known as chromosomes, can bring about mutations in ...

River erosion can shape fish evolution, study suggests

If we could rewind the tape of species evolution around the world and play it forward over hundreds of millions of years to the present day, we would see biodiversity clustering around regions of tectonic turmoil. Tectonically ...

Confirming the safety of genetically edited allergen-free eggs

Researchers have developed a chicken egg that may be safe for people with egg white allergies. Chicken egg allergies are one of the most common allergies in children. Though most children outgrow this allergy by age 16, some ...

How DNA repair can go wrong and lead to disease

We often come to an understanding of what causes a disease. We know, for example, that cancers are caused by mutations at critical locations in the genome, resulting in loss of control of cell growth. We know that the onset ...

Uniformity of prey can yield a spider-eat-spider world

A limited menu of prey may weave a tangled food web by emboldening wolf spiders of multiple species to dine on each other and even cannibalize their own, says a study from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Structural insight into process of gene regulation

In the cell nucleus, numerous proteins bind to the DNA molecule in order to regulate the activity of certain genes. One of these is the TATA-box binding protein (TBP), which binds to a specific DNA sequence and constitutes ...

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DNA sequence

A DNA sequence or genetic sequence is a succession of letters representing the primary structure of a real or hypothetical DNA molecule or strand, with the capacity to carry information as described by the central dogma of molecular biology.

The possible letters are A, C, G, and T, representing the four nucleotide bases of a DNA strand — adenine, cytosine, guanine, thymine — covalently linked to a phosphodiester backbone. In the typical case, the sequences are printed abutting one another without gaps, as in the sequence AAAGTCTGAC, read left to right in the 5' to 3' direction. Short sequences of nucleotides are referred to as oligonucleotides and are used in a range of laboratory applications in molecular biology. With regard to biological function, a DNA sequence may be considered sense or antisense, and either coding or noncoding. DNA sequences can also contain "junk DNA."

Sequences can be derived from the biological raw material through a process called DNA sequencing.

In some special cases, letters besides A, T, C, and G are present in a sequence. These letters represent ambiguity. Of all the molecules sampled, there is more than one kind of nucleotide at that position. The rules of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) are as follows:

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