Imagine that a novel life form is found deep within Earth's crust.It uses DNA as an information storage molecule,and transcription and translation occur as in other life forms with one exception: a codon for this organism is just two bases in length.What is the maximum number of different amino acids that could be encoded from such a genetic code?
A) 8
B) 16
C) 24
D) 32
E) 64

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In standard genetic code, there are 64 possible codons (4 bases in length, and 3 possible bases in each position). However, if a codon for this novel life form is just two bases in length, there are only 16 possible codons (4 possible bases in each position). Since each codon can encode for one of the 20 standard amino acids, the maximum number of different amino acids that could be encoded from such a genetic code is 16. Therefore, the correct answer is B) 16.

Imagine That a Novel Life Form Is Found Deep Within