SC.912. L.16.9 The Genetic Code
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You need to know that similarities in the genetic codes of organisms are due to common ancestry and the process of inheritance.
TUTORIALS
Recombinant DNA 3 D
The Universal Genetic Code
The Genetic Code is Nearly Universal because all organisms:
1. Encode their genes using DNA or RNA
2. Use the same codon for the same amino acid
3. Are genetically related to all other organisms due to common ancestry
The table shows 64 codons and the amino acids they code for in ALL organisms
For example the codon CGU, find C in the First letter column, G in the Second Letter columns across the top, and find U in the Third letter column. It codes for Arginine.
Because this genetic code is Universal genes from one organism can be transferred expressed in a different organism. Example, the gene that carries instructions to make insulin can be transferred into a bacterium, and cause the bacterium to produce human insulin
Recombinant DNA Technique: Joining together DNA from two different sources
A human gene that codes for Human Growth Hormone is inserted into bacterial DNA. Then, the new combination of genes is returned to a bacterial cell which replicates the recombinant DNA over and over. Using this method bacteria produce large quantities of Human growth hormone.
