Question

The codons UUU and UUC codes for phenylalanine only. This feature of genetic code is called
A. Commaless
B. Non-overlapping
C. Degenerate
D. Non-ambiguous

Answer 1

Hint: The nucleotides of mRNA are arranged as a linear sequence of codons consisting of three nitrogenous bases. Codons show various characteristics such as they are non-ambiguous, commaless, non-ambiguous, universal, and show degeneracy.

Complete answer:
A codon is a sequence of three nucleotides that forms the basic unit of genetic code in a DNA or RNA molecule.
The codon is known as a triplet.
This genetic code is translated into a sequence of amino acids of the protein to be synthesized. A genetic code shows various properties that are as follows- Triplet code, universal and non-ambiguous, degeneracy, commaless, non-overlapping, start and stop codons, and polarity.
The redundancy of the genetic code because of the multiplicity of the codon combinations that code for an amino acid or when more than one codon specifies for an amino acid is known as degeneracy.
For example- two codons, UUU and UUC codes for the amino acid phenylalanine.

Hence, the correct option is C Degenerate.

Note: Only twenty amino acids act as building blocks for protein synthesis. When an amino acid is specified by more than one codon then, it is known as degeneracy. Except for methionine (AUG) and tryptophan (UGG), every other amino acid is coded by various codons.