Degeneracy of the genetic code is attributed to the : -
A
First member of a codon
B
Second member of a codon
C
Entire codon
D
Third member of a codon
The answer is D.
Solution
The genetic code is degenerate: one amino acid can be coded by more than one codon (e.g. glycine by GGU, GGC, GGA and GGG). In most such sets, the first two bases are the same and only the third base differs. According to Crick's wobble hypothesis, the third base of the codon pairs loosely with the first base of the anticodon, so one tRNA can read more than one codon. So degeneracy of the genetic code is attributed to the third member of a codon.
ConceptWobble position of codon
Molecular Basis of Inheritance in past papers
200 questions from this chapter have appeared across 27 exam years.
