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The genetic code is the set of rules used by living cells to translate information encoded within genetic material into proteins. Translation is accomplished by the ribosome, which links proteinogenic amino acids in an order specified by messenger RNA (mRNA), using transfer RNA (tRNA) molecules to carry amino acids and to read the mRNA three nucleotides at a time. The genetic code is highly similar among all organisms and can be expressed in a simple table with 64 entries.
In molecular biology, a stop codon is a codon that signals the termination of the translation process of the current protein. 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.
Kinetoplastida is a group of flagellated protists belonging to the phylum Euglenozoa, and characterised by the presence of an organelle with a large massed DNA called kinetoplast. The organisms are commonly referred to as "kinetoplastids" or "kinetoplasts" The group includes a number of parasites responsible for serious diseases in humans and other animals, as well as various forms found in soil and aquatic environments. Their distinguishing feature, the presence of a kinetoplast, is an unusual DNA-containing granule located within the single mitochondrion associated with the base of the cell's flagellum. The kinetoplast contains many copies of the mitochondrial genome.
Paramecium is a genus of eukaryotic, unicellular ciliates, commonly studied as a model organism of the ciliate group. Paramecia are widespread in freshwater, brackish, and marine environments and are often abundant in stagnant basins and ponds. Because some species are readily cultivated and easily induced to conjugate and divide, they have been widely used in classrooms and laboratories to study biological processes. The usefulness of Paramecium as a model organism has caused one ciliate researcher to characterize it as the "white rat" of the phylum Ciliophora.
In molecular biology and genetics, translation is the process in which ribosomes in the cytoplasm or endoplasmic reticulum synthesize proteins after the process of transcription of DNA to RNA in the cell's nucleus. The entire process is called gene expression.
Proteinogenic amino acids are amino acids that are incorporated biosynthetically into proteins during translation. The word "proteinogenic" means "protein creating". Throughout known life, there are 22 genetically encoded (proteinogenic) amino acids, 20 in the standard genetic code and an additional 2 that can be incorporated by special translation mechanisms.
Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a very small bacterium in the class Mollicutes. It is a human pathogen that causes the disease mycoplasma pneumonia, a form of atypical bacterial pneumonia related to cold agglutinin disease. M. pneumoniae is characterized by the absence of a peptidoglycan cell wall and resulting resistance to many antibacterial agents. The persistence of M. pneumoniae infections even after treatment is associated with its ability to mimic host cell surface composition.
An expanded genetic code is an artificially modified genetic code in which one or more specific codons have been re-allocated to encode an amino acid that is not among the 22 common naturally-encoded proteinogenic amino acids.
A codon table can be used to translate a genetic code into a sequence of amino acids. The standard genetic code is traditionally represented as an RNA codon table, because when proteins are made in a cell by ribosomes, it is messenger RNA (mRNA) that directs protein synthesis. The mRNA sequence is determined by the sequence of genomic DNA. In this context, the standard genetic code is referred to as translation table 1. It can also be represented in a DNA codon table. The DNA codons in such tables occur on the sense DNA strand and are arranged in a 5′-to-3′ direction. Different tables with alternate codons are used depending on the source of the genetic code, such as from a cell nucleus, mitochondrion, plastid, or hydrogenosome.
The pterobranchia mitochondrial code is a genetic code used by the mitochondrial genome of Rhabdopleura compacta (Pterobranchia). The Pterobranchia are one of the two groups in the Hemichordata which together with the Echinodermata and Chordata form the three major lineages of deuterostomes. AUA translates to isoleucine in Rhabdopleura as it does in the Echinodermata and Enteropneusta while AUA encodes methionine in the Chordata. The assignment of AGG to lysine is not found elsewhere in deuterostome mitochondria but it occurs in some taxa of Arthropoda. This code shares with many other mitochondrial codes the reassignment of the UGA STOP to tryptophan, and AGG and AGA to an amino acid other than arginine. The initiation codons in Rhabdopleura compacta are ATG and GTG.
Degeneracy or redundancy of codons is the redundancy of the genetic code, exhibited as the multiplicity of three-base pair codon combinations that specify an amino acid. The degeneracy of the genetic code is what accounts for the existence of synonymous mutations.
The vertebrate mitochondrial code is the genetic code found in the mitochondria of all vertebrata.
The yeast mitochondrial code is a genetic code used by the mitochondrial genome of yeasts, notably Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida glabrata, Hansenula saturnus, and Kluyveromyces thermotolerans.
The invertebrate mitochondrial code is a genetic code used by the mitochondrial genome of invertebrates.
The ciliate, dasycladacean and Hexamita nuclear code is a genetic code used by certain ciliate, dasycladacean and Hexamita species.
The ascidian mitochondrial code is a genetic code found in the mitochondria of Ascidia.
The Thraustochytrium mitochondrial code is a genetic code found in the mitochondria of the labyrinthulid protist Thraustochytrium aureum. The mitochondrial genome was sequenced by the Organelle Genome Megasequencing Program.
The Cephalodiscidae mitochondrial code is a genetic code used by the mitochondrial genome of Cephalodiscidae (Pterobranchia). The Pterobranchia are one of the two groups in the Hemichordata which together with the Echinodermata and Chordata form the major clades of deuterostomes.
Cafileria is a genus of marine microscopic protists. It is monotypic, comprising the single species Cafileria marina, from Norway, described in 2019. It is part of a clade of heterotrophic flagellates that consume bacteria, known as Bicosoecida, a basal lineage of Stramenopiles. Due to its small size it is described as a nanoflagellate. It is the only organism where direct connections between mitochondria and the cell nucleus have been observed. Another peculiarity of C. marina is the change in shape of the Golgi apparatus during the cell cycle.
References
This article incorporates text from the United States National Library of Medicine, which is in the public domain. [3]
- ↑ Ken B. Waites and Deborah F. Talkington (2004). "Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Its Role as a Human Pathogen". Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 17 (4): 697–728. doi:10.1128/CMR.17.4.697-728.2004. PMC 523564 . PMID 15489344.
- ↑ Jirsová D, Füssy Z, Richtová J, Gruber A, Oborník M (2019). "Morphology, Ultrastructure, and Mitochondrial Genome of the Marine Non-Photosynthetic Bicosoecid Cafileria marina Gen. et sp. nov". Microorganisms. 7 (8): 240. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms7080240 . PMC 6723347 . PMID 31387253.
- ↑ Elzanowski A, Ostell J, Leipe D, Soussov V. "The Genetic Codes". Taxonomy browser. National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 30 April 2015.