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a teacher gives an amino acid sequence and a codon chart to a class. met-phe-trp -ala - ser pro the teacher asks the class to determine

Question

A teacher gives an amino acid sequence and a codon chart to a class. Met-Phe-Trp -Ala - Ser Pro The teacher asks the class to determine which mRNA sequence was used to create the amino acid sequence. Why would the students have difficulty with this assignment? There are multiple mRNA sequences that could be used to create this specific amino acid sequence. There are only four possible choices for nucleotides to use when creating the mRNA sequence. The amino acid sequence is not long enough to determine the mRNA molecules that would be used to create it. The students lack the final structure of the amino acid sequence that dictates the mRNA sequence.

Answer

4.2 (305 Votes)
Verificación de expertos
Emerson Elite · Tutor for 8 years

Answer

There are multiple mRNA sequences that could be used to create this specific amino acid sequence.

Explanation

Determining the mRNA sequence from an amino acid sequence can be challenging because multiple codons can encode the same amino acid due to the redundancy of the genetic code. Each amino acid can be specified by more than one codon; for instance, 'Phe' (Phenylalanine) can be encoded by both UUU and UUC. Thus, the students would have difficulty pinpointing a single mRNA sequence since various sequences of nucleotides could lead to the given amino acid sequence.