1-17 Protein Synthesis

Question 1

What is the genetic code?

Answer 1

The language and rules by which we get from DNA –> protein.

• The code is almost universal, with a notable exception being mitochondria
• Three nucleotides = a codon
• Each codon (64 possibilities) codes for 1 of 20 amino acids
• Because the code is degenerate, there are more codons than amino acids
• Changes are as conservative as possible, so synonym codons tend to preserve AA type (eg., basic to basic, acidic to acidic, etc.)
• The start codon, AUG, encodes Met, which indicates where translation should begin
• The three stop codons (UAA, UAG, and UGA) signal where translation should end