This might be a dumb question, but it was unexpected. I am trying to write a python program that will translate a file with a DNA sequence into its corresponding RNA and then to an amino acid sequence. I am just getting into bioinformatics and have enough understanding to know that DNA (ATGC) gets transcribed into RNA (UACG) and then rRNA reads codons of 3 base pairs from the mRNA to translate into individual amino acids in order to create a polypeptide.

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When looking at comparative charts of what amino acids both DNA and RNA codons translate into, the amino acids do not appear to match. For example, according to the DNA charts, ATA (which should transcribe to UAU) apparently ultimately translates to Isoleucine/I, but (when looking at an RNA chart) UAU translates to Tyrosine/Y. GCG (which should transcribe to CGC), according to the DNA chart, apparently translates to Alanine/A, but CGC translates to Arginine/R, according to the RNA chart.

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What is it that I am missing, because the conversions do not appear to be the same?

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Edit: Figured it out. I assumed that, on the DNA tables, the nucleotides being read for were completely transcribed before looking up the amino acid.

Thanks for you help /u/chem44 and /u/IrateLocus