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The following sequence shows the order of bases in a segment of mRNA - Scottish Highers Human Biology - Question 3 - 2019
Question 3
The following sequence shows the order of bases in a segment of mRNA. A U G A U C G C U A U G A G A C C G A G C U How many different amino acid molecules are coded... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:The following sequence shows the order of bases in a segment of mRNA - Scottish Highers Human Biology - Question 3 - 2019
Step 1
How many different amino acid molecules are coded for by this segment of mRNA?
Answer
To determine how many different amino acids are coded by the given segment of mRNA, we must first identify the codons.
A codon consists of three bases. Based on the provided sequence, we can break it down into the following codons:
- AUG
- AUC
- GCU
- UAG
- AGA
- CCG
- AGC
- U
From this breakdown, we see that there are a total of 6 complete codons: AUG, AUC, GCU, UAG, AGA, CCG.
Now we must consider that the last segment (U) does not form a complete codon. Therefore, we can conclude that the mRNA segment codes for a total of 6 different amino acids.
Thus, the final answer is A: 6.