Genetic material

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Genetic material (synonymous hereditary material ) refers to nucleic acids that code for genes . The genetic material in a cell is called a genome .

properties

In living things and retroviruses , the genetic material consists of double-stranded DNA . In some DNA viruses it can also be single-stranded, while RNA viruses use RNA as genetic material . Every cell has a constant amount of genetic material on average over time.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans-Ulrich Koecke: biology. Schattauer Verlag, 2000, ISBN 978-3-794-51786-2 , p. 109.
  2. ↑ David Ezra Green: Molecular Processes of Life. Springer-Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-642-65019-2 , p. 155 ( limited preview in Google book search).