How do the nucleotides of the DNA molecule contain genetic information?
Well, first of all, genes code for proteins. So the sequence of the nucleotides within a gene “tell” the ribosomes (the protein making centers) which amino acids to put in which order. Those proteins then go and do pretty much everything that the cell needs to do. They are involved in breaking down food to make energy, they let things in and out of the cell, they help get rid of the harmful compounds in the cell etc. Also, there are nucleotide sequences outside of the genes that are called promoter regions (they don’t actually code for any proteins) that control when the gene of question is expressed (when the cell starts making that protein). This is a really complicated process. But its pretty amazing too because if you think about it, every cell in your body contains the same DNA and yet your brain cells act and look much different than your skin cells. The only genetic difference between the cells is which genes are turned on and off in each.
