Assume that there are 6 types of the nitrogen bases are available and 37 types of an amino acid are avialiable for protein synthesis. In genetic code, each codon will be made up of how many minimum number of nitrogen bases?

Options

A. 3
B. 4
C. 5
D. 2

Answer

To determine the minimum number of nitrogen bases required to code for 37 types of amino acids, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Understand the Genetic Code
The genetic code is made up of codons, which are sequences of nitrogen bases. Each codon corresponds to a specific amino acid.

### Step 2: Determine the Number of Codons Needed
Since there are 37 types of amino acids, we need to find out how many codons are required to represent all these amino acids.

### Step 3: Calculate the Number of Codons
The number of different codons that can be formed from a certain number of nitrogen bases can be calculated using the formula:
\[ \text{Number of Codons} = n^k \]
where \( n \) is the number of nitrogen bases available, and \( k \) is the number of bases in each codon.

### Step 4: Set Up the Equation
In this case, we have:
- \( n = 6 \) (the number of nitrogen bases available)
- \( k \) is what we need to find out.

We need at least 37 codons to represent the 37 amino acids:
\[ 6^k \geq 37 \]

### Step 5: Solve for \( k \)
Now we can calculate the minimum value of \( k \):
- For \( k = 1 \): \( 6^1 = 6 \) (not enough)
- For \( k = 2 \): \( 6^2 = 36 \) (still not enough)
- For \( k = 3 \): \( 6^3 = 216 \) (sufficient)

Thus, the minimum number of nitrogen bases required in each codon is \( k = 3 \).

### Conclusion
Therefore, each codon will be made up of a minimum of **3 nitrogen bases**.

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