Gene product

These siRNA molecules work in RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) during RNA interference by binding to a target DNA sequence to prevent transcription of a specific mRNA.

Hydrogen bonding between the amino acids of the primary structure results in the formation of alpha helices or beta sheets.

They ensure the new protein folds into its correct functional conformation in addition to making sure products do not aggregate in areas where they should not.

[8] Proteins can also function as enzymes, increasing the rate of various biochemical reactions and turning substrates into products.

[7][9] Products can be modified by attaching groups such as phosphate via an enzyme to specific amino acids in the primary sequence.

[10] In 1941, American geneticist George Beadle and biochemist Edward Tatum proposed, on the basis of their study of mutants of the fungus Neurospora sitophila, that genes control specific biochemical reactions.

[11] They suggested that the functioning of an organism depends on an integrated system of chemical reactions controlled in some manner by genes.

For example, an experiment by Crick, Brenner, Barnett, and Watts-Tobin in 1961 demonstrated that each amino acid in a protein is encoded by a corresponding sequence of three bases in DNA, called a codon.