<P> In the early 1950s the prevailing view was that the genes in a chromosome acted like discrete entities, indivisible by recombination and arranged like beads on a string . The experiments of Benzer using mutants defective in the rII region of bacteriophage T4 (1955 - 1959) showed that individual genes have a simple linear structure and are likely to be equivalent to a linear section of DNA . </P> <P> Collectively, this body of research established the central dogma of molecular biology, which states that proteins are translated from RNA, which is transcribed from DNA . This dogma has since been shown to have exceptions, such as reverse transcription in retroviruses . The modern study of genetics at the level of DNA is known as molecular genetics . </P> <P> In 1972, Walter Fiers and his team were the first to determine the sequence of a gene: that of Bacteriophage MS2 coat protein . The subsequent development of chain - termination DNA sequencing in 1977 by Frederick Sanger improved the efficiency of sequencing and turned it into a routine laboratory tool . An automated version of the Sanger method was used in early phases of the Human Genome Project . </P> <P> The theories developed in the early 20th century to integrate Mendelian genetics with Darwinian evolution are called the modern synthesis, a term introduced by Julian Huxley . </P>

Genes located in different regions of the body