BACK TO cdna
cDNA vs. DNA
- complementary DNA: a DNA molecule that is complementary to a specific messenger RNA.
- deoxyribonucleic acid: an extremely long macromolecule that is the main component of chromosomes and is the material that transfers genetic characteristics in all life forms, constructed of two nucleotide strands coiled around each other in a ladderlike arrangement with the sidepieces composed of alternating phosphate and deoxyribose units and the rungs composed of the purine and pyrimidine bases adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine: the genetic information of DNA is encoded in the sequence of the bases and is transcribed as the strands unwind and replicate.
- the set of nongenetic traits, qualities, or features that characterize a person or thing: Humility is just not in her DNA.