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genetic code
Thursday 29 September 2005
standard genetic code (SGC)
Definition: The sequence of nucleotides, coded in triplets (codons) along the mRNA, that determines the sequence of amino acids in protein synthesis. The DNA sequence of a gene can be used to predict the mRNA sequence, and the genetic code can in turn be used to predict the amino acid sequence.
The standard genetic code (SGC) assigns amino acids to codons in such a way that the impact of point mutations is reduced, this is termed ’ error minimization ’ (EM).