the genetic code

what is a gene?

a sequence of bases in DNA that code for the sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide

what is the reference strand?

the one strand used as the code for making a protein

what is a base triplet?

3 letters that code for 1 amino acid

what is the other name for the genetic code?

the triplet code

what are the 3 stop codons that end a protein?

• UAA

• UAG

• UGA

how many base triplets are there?

64

how many amino acids must be coded for?

20

what does is mean if the genetic code is degenerate?

each amino acid has more than one code word

what are the four main features of the genetic code?

• triplet code

• degenerate

• non-overlapping

• wide-spread

what happens when a gene is ‘turned on’?

it is transcribed into an mRNA strand & translated into a protein

what process controls development and cell differentiation?

only expressing some of the genes at any one time