The hereditary component in the cell is genetic material. It contains all of an organism’s specific information. It’s known as DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) or RNA (ribonucleic acid) (ribonucleic acid). Prokaryotes, such as bacteria, have DNA in their cytoplasm. DNA is present in the nucleus of eukaryotes such as plants and animals (nuclear DNA) and to a smaller extent in extranuclear locations like mitochondria (containing mtDNA) and chloroplasts (containing chloroplast DNA) (containing cpDNA).
Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a lengthy molecule that stores our unique genetic information. It contains the instructions for manufacturing all of the proteins in our body, much like a recipe book.
Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a DNA-like molecule. RNA, unlike DNA, is a single-stranded molecule. The backbone of an RNA strand is mainly composed of alternating sugar and phosphate groups. Each sugar has one of four bases connected to it: adenine (A), uracil (U), cytosine (C), or guanine (G).