HUMAN GENETICS

4. GENETIC CODE
DR MUSE AYNASHE
TIMO-ADE UNIVERSITY
 INTRODUCTION
• The sequence of nitrogenous bases in mRNA molecule
which encloses information for the synthesis of protein
molecule is known as genetic code.
• The nucleotide or nucleotide sequence in mRNA which codes
for a particular amino acid is known as codon
• The main problem of genetic code was to determine the
exact number of nucleotides in a codon which codes for one
amino acid.
 INTRODUCTION
• Genetic code is a dictionary that corresponds with sequence of
nucleotides and sequence of amino acids
• Genetic code is a set of rules by which information encoded in
genetic material (DNA or RNA sequences) is translated into
proteins by living cells.
• The letters A,G,T and C correspond to the nucleotides found in
DNA which are organized into codons.
• The collection of codons is called Genetic Code
 INTRODUCTION
• To understand how proteins are encoded began after the
structure of DNA was discovered by James Watson and
Francis Crick.
• George Gamow postulated that a three-letter code must be
employed to encode the 20 standard amino acids used by
living cells to build proteins.
• For 20 amino acids there should be at least 20 codons.
 INTRODUCTION
• Each codon should have 3 nucleotides to impart specificity
to each of the amino acids for a specific codon.
1 nucleotide can make 4 combinations (singlet code)
2 nucleotides can make 16 combinations (doublet code)
3 nucleotides can make 64 combinations (triplet code),
which is the most suited for 20 amino acids.
 CODON AND ITS TYPES
• Genetic code is a dictionary which consists of “Genetic words”
called codons.
• Each codon consists of three bases (triplet)
• There are 64 codons
• 61 codons code for 20 amino acids found in proteins (sense
codons)
• 3 codons do not code for any amino acid (non-sense codons)
 CODON AND ITS TYPES
• Sense codons: the codons that code for amino acid are called
sense codon
• Nonsense codons: also called signal codons are those codons
that code for signal during protein synthesis.
• There are two types of signal codons:
Terminating codons
Initiating codons
 CODON AND ITS TYPES
Terminating codons:
• UAA, UAG, and UGA are termination codons or nonsense
codons, and are often referred as amber, ochre, and opal codons.
Initiating codons:
• AUG is the initiation codon and it codes the first amino acid in all
proteins. At the starting point it codes for methionine in
eukaryotes.
 ANTICODON
• The base sequence of tRNA which pairs with codon of
mRNA during translation is called anticodon.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CODON
AND ANICODON
• Codon is present in both DNA and RNA, but anticodon
is always present in RNA and never in DNA.
• Codons are written in 5 to 3 direction whereas
anticodons are usually written in 3 to 5 direction.
• Anticodon of some tRNA molecules have to pair with
more than one codon
 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CODON
AND ANICODON
• Codons are sequentially arranged in nucleic acid strand while
anticodons are discretely present in cells with amino acids
attached or not
• Codon defines which anticodon should come next with an
amino acid to create the protein strand
• Anticodon helps in bringing a particular amino acid and its
proper position during translation
 TRANSCRIPTION
• Messenger RNA (mRNA) is made.
• A single-stranded “copy” of the DNA segment that codes for the
required protein. The steps are as following:
Relevant segment of DNA unwinds forming two single strands.
Free floating nucleotides in nucleus bind to one strand following
the base pairing rule.
Complementary copy of DNA, called (mRNA) is formed.
 TRANSLATION
• The synthesis of a protein from mRNA
• The steps are as following:
mRNA leaves the nucleus and travels into the cytoplasm and attaches
to a ribosome.
Each sequence of three bases on the mRNA is called a codon
(triplet code) and codes for a particular amino acid
Transfer RNA (tRNA) molecule with a complementary base triplet
(anticodon) carries specified amino acid to ribosome.
Amino acids are linked with peptide bonds to form a polypeptide
 CHARACTERISTICS OF
GENETIC CODE
The genetic code possesses the following important properties which
have now been proved by definite experimental evidences.
• 1. the code is triplet • 6. the code is universal
• 2. the code is degenerate • 7. the code is polarity
• 3. the code is non-overlapping • 8. the code as act as start code
• 4. the code is commaless • 9. the code as act as stop code
• 5. the code is non-ambiguous
 1. THE CODE IS TRIPLET
• A triplet or three-letter code was first suggested by a
physicist Gamow in 1954.
• A codon of the present day genetic code that specifies one
amino acid in a polypeptide chain comprises of a
sequences of three nitrogenous bases on mRNA in a
specific sequence.
• In a triplet code three RNA bases code for one amino acid.
 2. THE CODE OF DEGENERATE
• When a particular amino acid is coded by more than one
codon, it is called degenerate. E.g. except for tryptophan
and methionine which have a single codon each, all other 18
amino acids have more than one codon.
• The code degeneracy is basically of two types:
Partial degeneracy
Complete degeneracy
 2. THE CODE OF DEGENERATE
• Partial degeneracy- occurs when first two nucleotides are
identical but the third nucleotide of the degenerate codon
differs, E.g. CUU and CUC code for leucine.
• Complete degeneracy- occurs when any of the four bases
can make third position and still code for same amino acid,
E.g. UCU, UCC, UCA, UCG code for serine.
The following table represents the occurrence of multiple
codons for different amino acids and clearly illustrates the
degeneracy of genetic code
 WOBBLE HYPOTHESIS
• The first two bases on the codon are usually the
important ones, the third base may be in some case one
of the four bases and the triplet would still code for the
same amino acid as long as the first two bases are the
same and have the same sequence.
• This concept is known as the wobble hypothesis.
3. THE CODE IS NON-OVERLAPPING

• The code is non-overlapping which means that the same

letter is not used for different codons at the same time,
that means that the same letter is not used for two
different codons.
 4. THE CODE IS COMMALESS
• There is no punctuations or comma between two codons in the
genetic code.
• It means that offer one amino acid is coded the second amino
acid will be automatically coded by the next three letters and
there no letters are wasted as the punctuation marks.
• There is no signal or demarcation to indicate the end of one
codon and the beginning of the next, so the codons are
continuous.
 5. THE CODE IS NON-AMBIGUOUS
• The genetic code is said to be non-ambiguous because a particular
codon always codes for the same amino acid. That means each
triplet code specifies one amino acid, E.g. UUU which is
phenylalanine
• The genetic code has 64 codons, out of these, 61 codons code for
the 20 different amino acids. However, none of the codons codes
for more than one amino acid.
 6. THE CODE IS UNIVERSAL
• Same genetic code is found valid for all organisms
ranging from bacteria to man.
• Such universality of the code was demonstrated by
Marshall, Caskey and Nirenberg (1967) who found that
[Link] (bacterium) and guinea pig (mammal) tRNA use
almost the same code.
 7. THE CODE HAS POLARITY
• The code is always read in a fixed direction which is 5’ to
3’ direction.
• In other words, the codon has a polarity.
• Reading from left to right and right to left will specify for
different amino acids.
 8. SOME CODES ACT AS START
CODONS
• In most organisms, AUG codon is the start or initiation
codons.
• The polypeptide chain starts with methionine amino acid.
• Normally GUG codes for valine but when normal AUG
codon is lost by deletion only then GUG is used as
initiation codon.
 9. SOME CODONS ACT AS STOP
CODONS
• Three codons UAG, UAA and UGA are the chain stop or
termination codon.
• They do not code for any of the amino acids.
• Since stop signal codons do not code for any amino acid
they were earlier called as non-sense codons.