Deciphering Genetic Code

Summary:

Presentation on the topic of Deciphering Genetic Code. It covers the topics like Triplet Codon Hypothesis, George Gamow’s Diamond Code, The Magic Twenty and RNA Tie Club, Code without Commas, and a few properties of Genetic Code.

Excerpt:

Content

1. Introduction
2. Triplet Codon Hypothesis
3. Deciphering The Genetic Code
4. George Gamow’s Diamond Code
5. The Magic Twenty and RNA Tie Club
6. Code Without Commas
7. Properties of genetic code
8. Conclusion
9. Bibliography

Introduction

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the cell’s genetic material, carrying information in a coded form from cell to cell and from parent to progeny. When a gene is active or expressed, it is first copied (transcribed) into another nucleic acid, RNA, which, in turn, directs the synthesis of the ultimate gene product, the protein (translation).

The process of protein synthesis is called translation. Proteins are polypeptide chains of 20 amino acids.

The actual process of protein synthesis involves linking together amino acids in a specific sequence of a polypeptide chain.

Genetic information exists in a coded form called genetic code. Deciphering or cracking of genetic code was a milestone discovery of biology.

The genetic code can be defined as the set of certain rules using which the living cells translate the information encoded within genetic material.

It is the sequence of nucleotides in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) that determines the amino acid sequence of proteins. A key point of the genetic code is its universal nature. This indicates that virtually all species with minor exceptions use the genetic code for protein synthesis.

A codon is a sequence of three nucleotides that together form a unit of genetic code in a DNA or RNA molecule. Codons provide key to the translation of genetic information dictating the synthesis of specific proteins.

The genetic code, once thought to be identical in all forms of life, has been found to diverge slightly in certain organisms and in the mitochondria of some eukaryotes.

Nevertheless, these differences are rare, and the genetic code is identical in almost all species, with the same codons specifying the same amino acids.