EPIDEMIOLOGY
Prof.Dr.María Paloma Alvarez
LESSON 15 HIV: supplementary material
The central dogma of molecular biology:
REPLICATION,TRANSCRIPTION,TRANSLATION.
The dogma was originally proposed by Francis Crick in 1958 and is based on three main princi-
ples: DNA replication, transcription and translation. It describes the flow of genetic information
in a cell. The dogma states that genetic information flows from DNA through RNA synthesis and
then through protein synthesis.
DNA REPLICATION:
DNA replication is the process by which genetic information contained in one DNA molecule is
copied to another DNA molecule.
DNA TRANSCRIPTION:
The process by which DNA is transcribed into RNA.
DNA TRANSLATION:
Process by which RNA is translated into proteins.
Transcription is the first step in gene expression. This step involves copying the DNA sequence
of a gene to produce an RNA molecule. Transcription occurs in the nucleus by the enzyme RNA
polymerase or transcriptase. RNA then leaves the nucleus and goes to a ribosome in the cyto-
plasm, where translation occurs. Translation reads the genetic code in the mRNA and creates a
protein.
Exceptions to the central dogma of molecular biology:
One exception is retrotranscription, a process by which RNA is used as a template to synthesize
DNA. This process is carried out by the enzyme reverse transcriptase, and is present in retrovi-
ruses, such as HIV.
