Messenger RNA (mRNA) is the template for protein synthesis. It consists of a series of nucleotides, each containing one of four nitrogen bases: uracil (U), cytosine (C), adenine (A), and guanine (G). The order of nucleotides in a strand of mRNA specifies the order in which amino acids are added as a protein is built. Each series of three nucleotides specifies one amino acid. This chart identifies each amino acid by its three-letter codon(s). For example, G under the “first letter” column, C under the “second letter” column, and A under the “third letter” column intersect at alanine, the amino acid specified by the sequence GCA. Most amino acids are identified by more than one codon (for instance, GCU, GCC, GCA, and GCG all encode alanine).
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