Question

Unambiguous, universal and degenerate are some of the terms used for the genetic code. Explain the salient features of each one of them.

Answer 1

Unambiguous code means that one codon codes for only one amino acid, e.g. AUG codes for only methionine. Universal code means that codon and its corresponding amino acid are the same in all organisms, e.g., from bacteria to human, UUU codes for phenylamine. Degenerate code means that some amino acids are coded by more than one codon, e.g., UUU and UUC code for phenylalanine.