Question

Which of the following statements regarding gene structure is NOT false?

1) The amino acid sequence of a polypeptide can be precisely predicted by the nucleotide sequence of the gene that encodes it.
2) The number of introns found in organisms is species specific.
3) The number of exons and introns generally correlate to the complexity of the organisms.
4) Intron cleavage and exon splicing are both mediated by protein enzymes.
5) The number of exons is always less than the number of introns in a gene.

Answer 1

The correct statement about gene structure is that the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide can be accurately predicted by the nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding it, due to the genetic code.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement regarding gene structure that is NOT false is: The amino acid sequence of a polypeptide can be precisely predicted by the nucleotide sequence of the gene that encodes it. This statement is true because the nucleotide sequence in exons of a gene dictates the sequence of amino acids in the encoded polypeptide following the rules of the genetic code, where sets of three nucleotides (codons) correspond to specific amino acids.

Other mentioned concepts such as the specific number of introns being species-specific, the correlation of exons and introns to organism complexity, and the mediation of intron cleavage and exon splicing solely by protein enzymes contain inaccuracies. Additionally, the last statement that the number of exons is always less than the number of introns is not true for all genes.

In reality, introns and exons vary greatly among different organisms and even within the same organism. Also, spliceosomes, which are made up of both proteins and small nuclear RNA molecules, facilitate the splicing process, not just protein enzymes.