What is the fundamental unit of heredity that carries information for synthesizing a protein and occupies a specific chromosomal locus?

What is the fundamental unit of heredity that carries information for synthesizing a protein and occupies a specific chromosomal locus?

• A. Gene
• B. Chromosome
• C. Allele
• D. Chromatin

Answer: (A)

A gene is a discrete unit of heredity. It contains the information required to synthesize a protein (or a functional RNA) and has a specific location on a chromosome called a locus. This fixed position means different versions of the same gene (alleles) can occupy the same locus and produce variation in traits. In contrast, a chromosome is the larger structure that carries many genes, and chromatin is the DNA–protein complex packaging those genes, not the unit of heredity itself.

A gene is a discrete unit of heredity. It contains the information required to synthesize a protein (or a functional RNA) and has a specific location on a chromosome called a locus. This fixed position means different versions of the same gene (alleles) can occupy the same locus and produce variation in traits. In contrast, a chromosome is the larger structure that carries many genes, and chromatin is the DNA–protein complex packaging those genes, not the unit of heredity itself.