nucleotides are only building blocks whose combinations determine different codons which subsequently associate in a sequential manner in order to create different amino acid combinations
Explanation:
A gene is a specific segment of DNA whose (nucleotide) sequence is copied into an RNA during the process of transcription, typically a messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule which is subsequently used to synthesize a protein. During translation, each triplet of nucleotides, i.e., each codon, corresponds to a specific amino acid. There are 64 possible codons (4³: 64), which can combine in different ways to create different amino acid combinations, and thus they are responsible for the generation of a huge amount of proteins coded by a given genome.
These changes can be caused by environmental factors such as ultraviolet radiation from the sun, or can occur if an error is made as DNA copies itself during cell division. Acquired mutations in somatic cells (cells other than sperm and egg cells) cannot be passed to the next generation.
