Question

How do proteins relate to dna?

Answer 1

DNA stores the instructions (genetic information) used to build proteins.

Explanation:

The central dogma (main teaching) of molecular biology is:

DNA -> RNA -> protein

DNA molecules are used as a template by an enzyme called RNA polymerase to build RNA molecules. This process is called transcription.

RNA molecules are read by cell structures called ribosomes to build proteins. This process is called translation.

Here is a video which summarizes how this happens.

Video from: Noel Pauller

There are other ways that proteins relate to DNA. For example, in your cells DNA is wound around proteins called histones.

Chromosomes actually contain both DNA and protein. This is why there was once a debate in science about which molecule, DNA or proteins, were responsible for controlling genetic information.

Hope this helps!