Hereditary material

The hereditary material or genetic material is a component of the cells that gives the characteristics to these, in addition to giving them a specific activity. It receives this name because when dividing a cell into two, this material is doubled and each daughter cell "inherits" a copy of it. It consists of nucleic acids, usually DNA (or RNA, in the case of some viruses). In eukaryotic cells it is located inside the cell nucleus. Discoveries through history

In the mid-nineteenth century Gregorio Mendel determined that hereditary material functions as particles that retain their identity in the passage from one cell to another within the gametes. These "particles" were called hereditary factors.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Mendel's studies were being recognized. There were arguments in favor of the theory that hereditary factors lie within a particle called the chromosome. These thoughts were favored by the similarity between Mendel's theories and the behavior that was being observed microscopically on chromosomes.

Investigations continued and then led to the conclusion that hereditary factors, now called genes, were made of DNA. A proof of the above would be that in all cells of the same species, the amount of DNA is constant. In the gametes, however, half of this element exists. Already in the 1960s models of the structure of this molecule were known, as well as how it was duplicated and how the function of a cell was determined. It was established that the sequence of nucleotides present in the DNA determines the amino acid sequence in the proteins, coming to know the role played by the nucleotide RNA. In order for ribosomes to synthesize proteins, DNA is copied by transcription into an RNA molecule, also called messenger RNA. This leaves the nucleus and reaches the ribosomes, which through translation, read the RNA pattern and effect the synthesis of proteins.

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