Which components of DNA provide the coding for proteins?

The components of DNA that provide the coding for proteins are the nitrogenous bases. These bases are adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. The sequence of these bases in DNA encodes the information necessary to produce proteins through the processes of transcription and translation.

During transcription, specific segments of DNA are copied into messenger RNA (mRNA), which carries the genetic information from the nucleus to ribosomes, the sites of protein synthesis. The sequence of nitrogenous bases in the mRNA is then read in groups of three bases, known as codons, which correspond to specific amino acids. This sequence ultimately determines the order of amino acids in a protein, which is crucial for the protein's structure and function.

Without the nitrogenous bases providing this coding, the information necessary for protein synthesis would not exist, making them essential to the genetic code and biological functions of cells.