Question

Write the contribution of the following scientists in deciphering the genetic code.
George Gamow; Hargobind Khorana; Marshall Nirenberg; Severo Ochoa

Answer 1

Hint: Genetic code is a sequence of nitrogen bases (A, G, C, T, and U in case of RNA) in a mRNA chain. It is triplet and is composed of three nitrogen bases. The bases combined form a codon. For example-AUG.

Complete answer:
We already know about the genetic code that it codes for a particular amino acid. The combination of nitrogen bases codes for 20 amino acids.

Let us discuss the contributions of various scientists who put forward the genetic codes.
• George Gamow- He was a physicist and cosmologist. He came up with a suggestion that the code should have three nucleotides in order to code for all amino acids.
• Hargobind Khurana- He was an Indian American Biochemist. He found a chemical method of synthesizing RNA molecules with a defined combination of bases. He along with Marshall Nirenberg got Nobel prize for finding out the role of genetic code in protein synthesis.
• Marshall Nirenberg- He was an American biochemist and genesis. He got the Nobel prize for breaking the genetic code and finding out how it helps in protein synthesis.
• Severo Ochoa- He was a biochemist and molecular biologist who received the Nobel prize for finding the enzyme polynucleotide phosphorylase which is helpful in polymerization of RNA.

Note: The properties of genetic code are-
• It is a triplet.
• The genetic code is universal.
• They are degenerate. Single code will code for a single amino acid.
• The AUG is called the start codon and UAA, UAG and UGA are called the nonsense codons which are called the stop codons.