Question

What is the chemical basis of heredity?

Answer 1

Hint: Heredity is the biological process through which particular characteristics are transmitted from one generation to another. The chemical basis of heredity is present inside the nucleus. It is the molecule that contains the chemical signature of traits that has been passed down from parents to offspring. Heredity is very important for variation which gives rise to evolution of living organisms.

Complete explanation:
DNA (or Deoxyribonucleic Acid) is known as the chemical basis of heredity. DNA is made up of a combination of nitrogenous bases, sugar molecules and phosphate groups which are linked by different bonds in a series of sequences. The DNA is responsible for the genetic makeup of an individual. It has the important role of carrying and transmitting the hereditary materials from parents to offspring.
The transfer of genetic materials starts with reproduction. During fertilization, the sperm from the male and the egg from the female fuse to form zygote. The genetic material i.e., the DNA from both the parents is combined in this process. Through cell division (meiosis and mitosis) the DNA is split many times and transferred to the offspring. The new offspring inherits exactly half the DNA from each of its parents.
The genetic material has greater variation among the parents itself so that the combination of genetic material is different during each fertilization process. This brings variation among siblings also. The mix of DNA is unique to each individual as only $$50\mathrm{\%}$$ of the DNA is received from each of the parents, who received $$50\mathrm{\%}$$ of their DNA from their parents and so on. Hence the DNA keeps reducing over generations.

Note:
The DNA also does transcription and translation of proteins inside the cell. The information to produce a particular protein is encoded in the DNA. The DNA undergoes transcription to produce the messenger RNA in which the information about proteins is copied. The messenger RNA is then transferred to the ribosome where it reads the information and starts assembling the amino acids into a protein. It is known that proteins are one of the most important organic molecules in living systems and have a diverse range of functions inside the body.