Final answer:
Crick's wobble hypothesis indicates that some tRNA molecules can pair with multiple codons due to flexible base pairing, specifically at the third nucleotide of the anticodon, which enhances the efficiency of protein synthesis.
Step-by-step explanation:
Crick proposed the wobble hypothesis, which suggests that some tRNA molecules can pair with multiple codons through flexible base pairing. The genetic code is composed of 64 possible mRNA codons, with only 61 specifying the addition of amino acids, as three are stop codons.
The anticodon of a tRNA molecule is a three-nucleotide sequence that interacts with an mRNA codon through complementary base pairing, allowing the tRNA to bring the corresponding amino acid to a growing polypeptide chain during protein synthesis.
The wobble phenomenon is attributed to the flexible pairing of the third nucleotide in the tRNA anticodon, enabling one type of tRNA to recognize and bind to multiple codons that differ in their third nucleotide, thus increasing the efficiency of the translation process.