The concept of the genetic code being universal refers to the fact that the fundamental principles of how genetic information is encoded and translated into proteins are shared by virtually all living organisms on Earth. This means that the DNA or RNA sequences that make up an organism's genome contain the instructions for building and functioning of that organism, and these genetic instructions are read and interpreted in the same way across different species.
In other words, the set of rules that specify how sequences of nucleotides (the building blocks of DNA and RNA) encode the sequence of amino acids in a protein is consistent across all living organisms. For example, the codon "AUG" universally represents the start codon that initiates protein synthesis in all organisms studied so far, and the codons "UAA," "UAG," and "UGA" are used as the stop codons that signal the end of protein synthesis.
This universality of the genetic code has important implications, including the ability to transfer genetic information between different organisms through genetic engineering techniques and the ability to study and understand the functions of genes in model organisms that may share common characteristics with humans.
what does it mean genetic code is universal?
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