STOPCODON

Stop codon

In the genetic code, a stop codon is a nucleotide triplet within messenger RNA that signals a termination of translation. Proteins are based on polypeptides, which are unique sequences of amino acids. Most codons in messenger RNA correspond to the addition of an amino acid to a growing polypeptide chain, which may ultimately become a protein. Stop codons signal the termination of this process by binding release factors, which cause the ribosomal subunits to disassociate, releasing the amino acid chain.

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stop codon

Noun

  1. a sequence of three RNA nucleotides (A, C, G or U) that instruct the synthesis, or translation, of a protein to stop. The three-letter stop codon sequences have been given names: "UAG" is amber, "UGA" is opal, and "UAA" is ochre.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: stop codon
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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