What is the molecule of inheritance in all living organisms?
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Solution
Deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA:
Deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA is one of the nucleic acids that carry genetic information. DNA contains our unique genetic code.
DNA molecule is made up of nucleotides.
A nucleotide consists of a pentose sugar i.e. deoxyribose sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base - adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T)
Nucleotides store and transfer genetic information.
Thus, DNA is said to transmit genetic information.
The identical biological information is stored on both of the double-stranded DNA's strands.
When the two strands divide, this information is reproduced.
More than 98 percent of DNA in humans is non-coding, which means that these regions do not act as templates for protein sequences.
DNA's two strands are antiparallel because they move in the opposite directions of one another.
The purines in DNA are adenine and guanine, whereas the pyrimidines are thymine and cytosine.
Thus, DNA is the molecule of inheritance in all living organisms.