The flow of genetic information from DNA, through RNA, to protein is best described by which term?

• A. Gene expression
• B. Genetic code
• C. Translation
• D. Replication

Answer: (A)

The main idea is gene expression, which describes how information in DNA is turned into functional products. Gene expression includes both transcription, where DNA is copied into RNA, and translation, where that RNA is used to build a protein. So it captures the entire flow from DNA to RNA to protein. The genetic code refers to the mapping between RNA codons and amino acids, not the overall process of expressing genes. Translation is the step that makes a protein from messenger RNA, but it’s only part of gene expression. Replication is the copying of DNA, which is unrelated to expressing genes.