Genetic Information
Nucleic acids are used to store the genetic information that acts as a blueprint for the cell
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While RNA may have been the first genetic material to evolve, DNA is now the principle data storage molecule due to its superior chemical stability (double helical structure)
DNA is used as the genetic material for all living organisms
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Some viruses use RNA as their genetic material, however as they cannot undergo independent metabolism they are not considered living
The genetic information stored by DNA is encoded in the base sequence of the nucleotide chain
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As DNA is composed of four bases, a DNA strand of x length would result in 4x different sequences
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This means that even a sequence as short as 10 bases could give rise to over 1 million combinations
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As the median length of a gene sequence is roughly 24 kilobases, there is a huge diversity of possible base sequences for any given gene
Because DNA in a very compact and stable molecule that has a limitless capacity for storing information, scientists are endeavouring to encode digital information as genetic sequences
DNA Data Storage
DNA stores the instructions for the production of proteins in triplets of bases called codons
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Each codon codes for a specific amino acid – the order of codons in a gene sequence determines the order of amino acids in a polypeptide chain
The totality of all codon combinations and the amino acids represented by each is known as the genetic code
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The genetic code is considered universal – all living organisms on Earth use the exact same code (with some minor exceptions)
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The conservation of the genetic code across all life forms is considered evidence that all living organisms evolved from a universal common ancestor
Genetic Code
