Which molecule stores genetic information and serves as the blueprint for protein synthesis, and is located in the nucleus?

• A. RNA
• B. Proteins
• C. DNA
• D. Lipids

Answer: (C)

DNA stores genetic information in the sequence of its nucleotides, which also serves as the blueprint for making proteins. In eukaryotic cells, this information is kept in the nucleus. When a protein is needed, the gene’s instructions are transcribed into messenger RNA in the nucleus, and the mRNA carries that code to ribosomes in the cytoplasm where proteins are built. RNA plays a crucial role in the process, acting as the messenger and a component of ribosomes, but it does not house the long-term genetic code like DNA does. Proteins are the end products, not the storage of information, and lipids have no role in encoding genetic instructions. So, the molecule that both stores genetic information and directs protein synthesis, and is located in the nucleus, is DNA.