Codon
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codon
[′kō‚dän] (genetics)
The basic unit of the genetic code, comprising sequential, nonoverlapping three-nucleotide sequences in messenger ribonucleic acid, each of which is translated into one amino acid; 61 of the 64 codons code for a specific protein synthesis; the other 3 are stop codons that specify termination of the growing polypeptide or protein chain.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Codon
a coding unit, a set of three nucleotides (triplet) that determines the position of a particular amino acid in a polypeptide chain synthesized under the control of a gene. A codon is a unit of the genetic code by means of which all the genetic information is “recorded” in DNA and RNA molecules. Many amino acids have more than one codon (so-called degeneracy of the code). There are three codons which do not code amino acids; rather, they determine the beginning or end of the synthesis of a polypeptide chain.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.