12.17: The Central Dogma
- Page ID
- 43686
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As you have learned, information flow in an organism takes place from DNA to RNA to protein:
- DNA is transcribed to RNA via complementary base pairing rules (but with U instead of T in the transcript)
- The RNA transcript, specifically mRNA, is then translated to an amino acid polypeptide
- Final folding and modifications of the polypeptide lead to functional proteins that actually do things in cells
This is known as the Central Dogma of Life, which holds true for all organisms.

Figure 1. Click for a larger image. Instructions on DNA are transcribed onto messenger RNA. Ribosomes are able to read the genetic information inscribed on a strand of messenger RNA and use this information to string amino acids together into a protein.
A link to an interactive elements can be found at the bottom of this page.
Click here for a text-only version of the activity.
Contributors and Attributions
CC licensed content, Original
- The Central Dogma. Authored by: Shelli Carter and Lumen Learning. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution
CC licensed content, Shared previously
- Biology. Provided by: OpenStax CNX. Located at: http://cnx.org/contents/185cbf87-c72e-48f5-b51e-f14f21b5eabd@10.8. License: CC BY: Attribution. License Terms: Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/185cbf87-c72...f21b5eabd@10.8
- The Central Dogma of Life. Provided by: Lumen Learning. Located at: www.oppia.org/explore/exjRkfVQADh2. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike