A gene mutation changes a codon from UAU to UAC, but the amino acid is unchanged. What property of the genetic code does this show?

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: A. The code is degenerate, as more than one codon can code for one amino acid

  1. Step 1: Both UAU and UAC code for tyrosine. Answer: The code is degenerate, as more than one codon can code for one amino acid. Why not the others: universality is about all organisms sharing the code; non-overlapping means codons are read in sequence; triplet means three bases per codon.

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A gene mutation changes a… | A-Level UK (AQA, Edexcel, OCR)