Introduction to the central dogma of molecular biology

Sheep, as well as humans, normally begin life as a single cell called a fertilized egg or zygote. From this one cell, trillions of cells will ultimately be derived through the process of cell division. Prior to each cell division event, the DNA must replicate. Also, cells must produce proteins needed to accomplish specific functions. These events are described by the central dogma of molecular biology, which states that DNA contains information to replicate itself and that specific regions of the DNA (called genes) contains the information needed to make RNA, which is in turn used to produce needed proteins. In this chapter, we will learn more about the steps of these processes.