Final answer:
Codons are recognized during the process of translation, which involves ribosomes reading mRNA sequences to synthesize proteins. This process is separate from other DNA and RNA functions such as transduction, replication, transcription, and repair mechanisms.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct answer to the question about codons being recognized is B) translation. Codons are recognized during translation when ribosomes read the mRNA sequence in sets of three nucleotides at a time, matching each codon with the appropriate amino acid during protein synthesis. This process is distinct from transduction, DNA replication, transcription, and base excision, all of which are different aspects of cellular functions involving DNA and RNA.
In regards to the given references, the o subunit of RNA polymerase is involved during the initiation phase of bacterial transcription (Answer A). A frameshift mutation is exemplified by the deletion of one nucleotide (Answer D), not the deletion of a codon. The passage also clarifies that translation is where DNA is indirectly copied into protein through the intermediary mRNA, not to be confused with transcription, which is the copying of DNA into RNA.