Table of contents

1. Introduction to Genetics51m
2. Mendel's Laws of Inheritance3h 37m
3. Extensions to Mendelian Inheritance2h 41m
4. Genetic Mapping and Linkage2h 28m
5. Genetics of Bacteria and Viruses1h 21m
6. Chromosomal Variation1h 48m
7. DNA and Chromosome Structure56m
8. DNA Replication1h 10m
9. Mitosis and Meiosis1h 34m
10. Transcription1h 0m
11. Translation58m
12. Gene Regulation in Prokaryotes1h 19m
13. Gene Regulation in Eukaryotes44m
14. Genetic Control of Development44m
15. Genomes and Genomics1h 50m
16. Transposable Elements47m
17. Mutation, Repair, and Recombination1h 6m
18. Molecular Genetic Tools19m
- Genetic Cloning
  9m
- Methods for Analyzing DNA
  9m
19. Cancer Genetics29m
- Overview of Cancer
  21m
- Cancer Mutations
  7m
20. Quantitative Genetics1h 26m
21. Population Genetics50m
- Hardy Weinberg
  19m
- Allelic Frequency Changes
  31m
22. Evolutionary Genetics29m

11. Translation

The Genetic Code

Genetics

11. Translation

The Genetic Code

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Multiple Choice

Which of the following characteristics does NOT describe the triplet codon code?

Degenerate

Nonoverlapping

Nearly Universa

Overlapping

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Understand the concept of the genetic code: The genetic code is a set of rules by which information encoded in genetic material (DNA or RNA sequences) is translated into proteins by living cells.

Define 'Degenerate': The genetic code is described as degenerate because multiple codons can encode the same amino acid. This means that the code is redundant.

Define 'Nonoverlapping': In a nonoverlapping code, each nucleotide is part of only one codon. This means that the reading frame is set and each codon is read sequentially without sharing nucleotides with adjacent codons.

Define 'Nearly Universal': The genetic code is nearly universal, meaning that with few exceptions, the same codon specifies the same amino acid in most organisms.

Identify the characteristic that does not fit: The term 'Overlapping' would imply that nucleotides are shared between codons, which is not the case in the standard genetic code. Therefore, 'Overlapping' is the characteristic that does not describe the triplet codon code.

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Related Practice

Open Question

Table D lists α-globin and β-globin gene sequences for the 11 or 12 nucleotides preceding the start codon and the first nucleotide following the start codon (see Problem 34). The data are for 16 vertebrate globin genes reported by Kozak (1987). The sequences are written from -12 to +4 with the start codon sequence in capital letters. Use the data in this table to

Determine the consensus sequence for the 16 selected α-globin and β-globin genes.

Open Question

The six nucleotides preceding the start codon and the first nucleotide after the start codon in eukaryotes exhibit strong sequence conservation as determined by the percentages of nucleotides in the to positions and the position (see Problem 34). Use the data given in the table for Problem 35 to determine the seven nucleotides that most commonly surround the start in vertebrates.

Open Question

The two gels illustrated contain dideoxynucleotide DNA-sequencing information for a wild-type segment and mutant segment of DNA corresponding to the N-terminal end of a protein. The start codon and the next five codons are sequenced.

Determine the amino acid sequences translated from these mRNAs.

Open Question

The two gels illustrated contain dideoxynucleotide DNA-sequencing information for a wild-type segment and mutant segment of DNA corresponding to the N-terminal end of a protein. The start codon and the next five codons are sequenced.

Write out the mRNA sequences encoded by each template strand, and underline the start codons.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following codons is a start codon?

Multiple Choice

Which of the following were used to discover the triplet code?

Open Question

In this chapter, we focused on the genetic code and the transcription of genetic information stored in DNA into complementary RNA molecules. Along the way, we found many opportunities to consider the methods and reasoning by which much of this information was acquired. From the explanations given in the chapter, what answers would you propose to the following fundamental questions:How were the experimentally derived triplet codon assignments verified in studies using bacteriophage MS2?

Open Question

In this chapter, we focused on the genetic code and the transcription of genetic information stored in DNA into complementary RNA molecules. Along the way, we found many opportunities to consider the methods and reasoning by which much of this information was acquired. From the explanations given in the chapter, what answers would you propose to the following fundamental questions:How were the specific sequences of triplet codes determined experimentally?

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