DNA sequence



A DNA sequence or genetic sequence is a succession of letters representing the primary structure of a real or hypothetical DNA molecule or strand, with the capacity to carry information.

The possible letters are A, C, G, and T, representing the four nucleotide subunits of a DNA strand - adenine, cytosine, guanine, thymine bases covalently linked to phospho-backbone. Typically the sequences are printed abutting one another without gaps, as in the sequence AAAGTCTGAC, going from 5' to 3' from left to right. A succession of any number of nucleotides greater than four is liable to be called a sequence. With regard to its biological function, which may depend on context, a sequence may be sense or anti-sense, and either coding or noncoding. DNA sequences can also contain "junk DNA".

Sequences can be derived from the biological raw material through a process called DNA sequencing.