genetic code

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The set of DNA and RNA sequences that determine the amino acid sequences used in the synthesis of an organism's proteins. It is the biochemical basis of heredity and nearly universal in all organisms.
• noun The set of 64 codons corresponding to the 20 amino acids used for protein synthesis and as the signals for starting and stopping protein synthesis.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun genetics the set of rules by which the sequence of bases in DNA are translated into the amino acid sequence of proteins

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun the ordering of nucleotides in DNA molecules that carries the genetic information in living cells