There are 64 types of codons in genetic code dictionary because:

MCQ

There are $64$ types of codons in genetic code dictionary because:

A
There are $64$ types of $\text{tRNA's}$ found in cell.
B
There are $44$ meaningless and $20$ codons for amino acids.
C
There are $64$ amino acids for coding.
✓
Genetic code is triplet.

✓

Answer

Correct option: D.

Genetic code is triplet.

The genetic code is a triplet and this triplet nature can be explained as:
There are four nitrogenous bases $($Adenine, Guanine, Thymine and Cytosine$)$ and these four bases code for $20$ amino acids.
If genetic code is a doublet then a combination of two nitrogenous bases will give $4 \times 4 = 16$ codons,
which is insufficient for $20$ amino acids.
George Gamow in $1954$ explained the possibility of three letter code i.e. triplet codon.
This will give $4 \times 4 \times 4 = 64$ codons, which is more than enough to code for twenty amino acids.
Hence, the genetic code is a triplet.

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