D. Sequence of nucleotides in the DNA of the cell.
Explanation:
Proteins are a type of biomolecules in living systems responsible for many phenotypic characteristics in organisms. Proteins are synthesized by a process called gene expression, which encompasses transcription and translation.
Using the central dogma of biology to trace, DNA (genes) contains information that encodes the production of proteins in the body. Therefore, the sequence of nucleotide bases in the DNA of a cell determines the sequence of mRNA that will be produced during transcription and ultimately, determines the specific type of proteins (amino acid chain) that will be produced in a cell during translation.
