There Are 61 MRNA Codons That Specify an Amino Acid

question 9

Multiple Choice

There are 61 mRNA codons that specify an amino acid, but only 45 tRNAs. This is best explained by the fact that

• A) some tRNAs have anticodons that recognize four or more different codons.
• B) the rules for base pairing between the third base of a codon and tRNA are flexible.
• C) many codons are never used, so the tRNAs that recognize them are dispensable.
• D) the DNA codes for all 61 tRNAs but some are then destroyed.
• E) competitive exclusion forces some tRNAs to be destroyed by nucleases.

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