Question

In 1958, Francis Crick proposed that genes and their corresponding polypeptides are "colinear". Which of the following statements concerning the concept of colinearity is incorrect? A) Colinearity implies a direct one-to-one correspondence between nucleotides and amino acids.

B) Colinearity suggests a linear relationship between gene sequences and polypeptide sequences.
C) Mutations, such as insertions or deletions, can disrupt the colinearity between genes and polypeptides.
D) The concept of colinearity was proposed by Watson and Crick in 1958.
E) Colinearity refers to the overall correspondence rather than a precise match between nucleotides and amino acids.

Answer 1

The incorrect statement about the concept of colinearity is option A, which suggests a one-to-one correspondence between nucleotides and amino acids; the correct relationship is a three-to-one correspondence (codon to amino acid). Additionally, option D is incorrect as it misattributes the proposal of colinearity solely to Watson and Crick.

Step-by-step explanation:

The concept of colinearity in genetics states that there is a direct correspondence between the sequence of nucleotides in a gene and the sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide. However, this correspondence does not mean a one-to-one relationship between nucleotides and amino acids, as option A suggests, because it actually takes three nucleotides to encode one amino acid, which is known as a codon.

Mutations, such as insertions or deletions, can indeed disrupt the colinearity between genes and polypeptides, as explained by option C. Colinearity generally implies an overall correspondence between sequences, as indicated by option E, but in the context of the genetic code, it connects more specifically to the three-to-one relationship between nucleotide triplets and amino acids.