Final answer:
The genetic code is naturally read in three-nucleotide sequences called codons, each corresponding to one of the twenty amino acids, ensuring accurate protein synthesis. A hypothetical two-nucleotide genetic code would not suffice to encode all amino acids and would alter protein synthesis significantly.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding the Genetic Code and Protein Translation
The question explores a hypothetical situation where the genetic code is read in a non-overlapping fashion using two nucleotides per amino acid, instead of the natural three-nucleotide codons. In reality, the genetic code uses triplet codons consisting of three nucleotides to specify one of the twenty common amino acids, ensuring protein synthesis that reflects the genetic information accurately.
Triplet codons were established as the standard because a two-nucleotide system would only allow 16 (4²) possible amino acid specifications, which is insufficient for the 20 amino acids used in proteins. The three-nucleotide codons can allow for 64 (4³) different combinations, accommodating all amino acids and providing redundancy, where some amino acids are specified by more than one codon.
If the genetic code were read in two-nucleotide sequences, several potential problems would arise. First, only 16 amino acids could be encoded, making it impossible to include all 20 needed for protein diversity. Second, the patterns of protein synthesis would be drastically altered, leading to a different set of polypeptides than what is produced in nature. In such an artificial system, translating the given sequence might result in any of the hypothetical polypeptides listed, depending on the arbitrary assignment of the two-nucleotide codons to amino acids, as the question does not provide a specific codon assignment.