The redundancy of the genetic code means that some amino acids arespecified by more than one codon. For example, the amino acid leucine is specified by six different codons. Within a genome, synonymous codons are not present in equal numbers; some synonymous codons appear much more frequently than others, and the preferred codons differ among species. For example, in one species, the codon UUA might be used most often to specify leucine, whereas in another species, the codon CUU might be used most often. Speculate on a reason for this bias in codon usage and why the preferred codons are not the same in all organisms.

Biology: The Dynamic Science (MindTap Course List)
4th Edition
ISBN:9781305389892
Author:Peter J. Russell, Paul E. Hertz, Beverly McMillan
Publisher:Peter J. Russell, Paul E. Hertz, Beverly McMillan
Chapter15: From Dna To Protein
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The redundancy of the genetic code means that some amino acids are
specified by more than one codon. For example, the amino acid leucine is specified by six different codons. Within a genome, synonymous codons are not present in equal numbers; some synonymous codons appear much more frequently than others, and the preferred codons differ among species. For example, in one species, the codon UUA might be used most often to specify leucine, whereas in another species, the codon CUU might be used most often. Speculate on a reason for this bias in codon usage and why the preferred codons are not the same in all organisms.

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