Question

Chromosomes are made up of
a. DNA only
b. Protein only
c. DNA and Protein
d. RNA only

Answer 1

Hint: Chromosomes are tightly coiled DNA bundles of thread-like structures found inside the nucleus of nearly every cell and vary in number and shape among living things. Its three-dimensional configuration of the genome plays an important role in transcriptional regulation.

Complete answer:
> Option A is incorrect. DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid is a long, biological molecule that contains genetic information (formed by two chains of polynucleotides tangling around each other to form a double helix) and protein synthesis instructions. The key purpose of DNA is to interpret, using the genetic code, the sequence of amino acid residues in proteins. Cells make a copy of a stretch of DNA of nucleic acid RNA, to decipher the genetic code.

> Option B is incorrect. Proteins help to fold the DNA inside the packaged chromosome into the complex configurations. These proteins mediate replication of DNA, the expression of genes or represent essential structural proteins in chromosome packaging.

> Option C is correct. A chromosome consists of a protein and a single deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule. It is passed from parents to offspring, DNA contains the specific instructions that make each living creature distinctive.

> Option D is incorrect. RNA (Ribonucleic acid) is synthesized in the nucleus and is located predominantly in the cell cytoplasm. It is a polymeric molecule important for the coding, decoding, control, and expression of genes in different biological roles. Therefore, chromosomes do not consist of RNA.

So, the correct answer is Option C.

Note: Chromosomes are commonly only detectable under a light microscope as the cell undergoes metaphase of cell division. Many other eukaryotic nuclei contain packaging proteins that bind and condense the molecule of DNA to prevent it from being an unmanageable tangle, aided by proteins of a chaperone.