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Definition

The chemical that contains, or ‘encodes’, genetic information. DNA is made up of four different chemical bases known as ‘A’ (adenine), ‘C’ (cytosine), ‘G’ (guanine) and ‘T’ (thymine).

Use in clinical context

The information contained within DNA includes all the information needed to grow and maintain an individual – be this a human, other animal, plant, bacteria or fungi. Changes to an organism’s DNA can have a significant impact on its phenotype.

Related terms

Adenine | Bases | Cytosine | Guanine | Phenotype | Thymine

Last updated on 6th June, 2019