Describes a key assumption of molecular biology, namely, that each gene in the DNA molecule carries the information needed to construct one protein, which, acting as an enzyme, controls one chemical reaction in the cell.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.