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Why are there only 20 amino acids when there are 64 variants of triplets?

User Chyyran
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1 Answer

1 vote

Answer:

The genetic code is degenerate.

Step-by-step explanation:

The genetic code is degenerate: there are 64 triplets of different codons (sequence of three bases of mRNA that codes for a certain amino acid) and 20 amino acids. That is, an amico acid can be encoded by more than one codon.