Expansion
DNA to RNA to protein, by replication, transcription and translation
Expansion
- Replication: DNA to DNA, by DNA polymerase, in the S phase
- Transcription: DNA to RNA, by RNA polymerase II for messenger RNA, in the nucleus
- Translation: RNA to protein, on ribosomes in the cytoplasm
Exceptions
- Reverse transcription: RNA to DNA, by reverse transcriptase in retroviruses such as HIV, and by telomerase
- RNA replication in RNA viruses
- Prions: protein to protein propagation, with no nucleic acid at all
Post-transcriptional processing of eukaryotic messenger RNA: 5-prime cap, poly-A tail, and splicing to remove introns. Alternative splicing allows one gene to encode many proteins, which is why humans have far more proteins than genes.
Drug and toxin targets across the dogma: rifampicin blocks bacterial RNA polymerase; alpha-amanitin from death cap mushrooms blocks RNA polymerase II; most antibiotics including macrolides, aminoglycosides and tetracyclines target the bacterial ribosome; and antiretrovirals target reverse transcriptase, integrase and protease.