Which statement best describes the flow of genetic information in biology?

Which statement best describes the flow of genetic information in biology?

• A. Information flows from DNA to RNA to protein.
• B. Information flows from RNA to DNA to protein.
• C. Information flows from protein to DNA to RNA.
• D. Information flows from protein to RNA to DNA.

Answer: (A)

The flow of genetic information follows transcription and translation, with DNA acting as the storage of genetic information and the template for making RNA, which is then used to build proteins. In most cells, transcription copies a DNA sequence into messenger RNA, and translation uses that mRNA to assemble the corresponding amino acid sequence into a protein. This pathway—DNA to RNA to protein—is the standard description of how genes are expressed. There are rare exceptions, such as certain viruses that reverse transcribe RNA into DNA, but the canonical flow remains DNA to RNA to protein.

The flow of genetic information follows transcription and translation, with DNA acting as the storage of genetic information and the template for making RNA, which is then used to build proteins. In most cells, transcription copies a DNA sequence into messenger RNA, and translation uses that mRNA to assemble the corresponding amino acid sequence into a protein. This pathway—DNA to RNA to protein—is the standard description of how genes are expressed. There are rare exceptions, such as certain viruses that reverse transcribe RNA into DNA, but the canonical flow remains DNA to RNA to protein.