The molecular blueprint for nearly all enzymes, structural proteins, cellular transport proteins, and other constituents that are responsible for carrying out the complex reactions involved in metabolism is stored as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in the nucleus of the cell. A small amount of DNA of critical importance to metabolism also is contained in cellular organelles called mitochondria. DNA is organized into smaller units, termed genes, which direct the production of specific proteins or enzymes. In 1945 American geneticists George Beadle and Edward Tatum proposed a central tenet of molecular biology, the “one gene-one enzyme” principle, which states that a single ...(100 of 6555 words)