According to the central dogma, which process is part of genetic information flow?

• A. DNA is transcribed into RNA, which is translated into protein; replication of DNA is a separate process for inheritance.
• B. DNA is translated into protein directly.
• C. RNA is transcribed into DNA, which is translated into RNA.
• D. Protein determines DNA sequence.

Answer: (A)

Genetic information moves in one direction: DNA is transcribed into RNA, and the RNA is then translated into a protein. The RNA intermediate is essential because ribosomes read RNA to assemble amino acids into a protein. DNA replication is a separate process that copies the genome for inheritance and does not directly build a protein. So the pathway DNA → RNA → protein, with replication as a distinct step, matches how information flows in cells. The other ideas describe paths that don’t occur in the standard flow: translating DNA directly into protein skips the RNA step; RNA being turned into DNA is reverse transcription, not the normal direction; and proteins changing DNA sequences would imply information moving back from protein to DNA, which isn’t part of the usual flow.