Question

Write down the four salient features of genetic code.

Answer 1

The genetic code is the sequence of nucleotides in the DNA and RNA that determine the Amino acid sequence of protein.

Complete Answer:
The features of genetic codes:

1. Triplet nature: The code could make a genetic code for 64 different combinations (4 x 4 x 4) genetic code and provide plenty of information in the DNA molecule to specify the placement of all 20 amino acids. When experiments were performed to crack the genetic code it was found to be a code that was triplet. These three letter codes of nucleotides (AUG, AAA) etc. are called codons.
2. Degeneracy: The code is degenerate which means that the same amino acid is coded by more than one base triple. For example, three amino acid arginine, alanine and leucine each have six synonymous codons.
3. Non overlapping: The genetic code is non overlapping that is the adjacent code or does not overlap. Non overlapping code means that the same letter is not used for the two different codons. Another word no single way can take part in the formation of more than one codon.
4. Commaless: There is no signal to indicate the end of a codon and the beginning of the next code. The genetic code is commaless.

Note: The genetic code has polarity, that is the code is always read in a fixed direction. a particular codon I will always code for the same amino acid.