Question

In bacterial cells, AUG encodes for _ as a start codon, and _ when AUG is an internal codon. In eukaryotes and archaeas, it codes for _ whether it's an initiation codon or an internal one.

Answer 1

In both bacterial cells and eukaryotes/archaea, the AUG codon encodes for the amino acid methionine, whether it serves as a start codon or an internal one, adhering to the universal and unambiguous nature of the genetic code.

Step-by-step explanation:

In bacterial cells, the start codon AUG encodes for methionine as a start codon and also encodes for methionine when AUG is an internal codon. In eukaryotes and archaea, AUG codes for methionine whether it's an initiation codon or an internal one. This codon not only specifies the amino acid methionine but also serves as the initiation signal for translation. The genetic code is considered universal because the same codons encode the same amino acids in almost all organisms. Additionally, the genetic code is unambiguous, meaning that each codon encodes for only one amino acid. Methionine is unique in that it's encoded by a single codon, AUG, which also acts as the signal to start protein synthesis in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.