Answer:
10 codons
Explanation:
During gene expression, the order of the nucleotide sequence in the DNA determines the order of the nucleotide sequence in the mRNA (transcription). Transcription, which is the first stage of gene expression, involves the synthesis of a mRNA molecule using a DNA template. The nucleotide sequence of a DNA molecule is used to produce the nucleotide sequence in a single stranded mRNA molecule.
During translation, which is the second stage of gene expression, the mRNA sequence is read in a group of three (3) nucleotides called CODON. This means three successive nucleotide bases in the mRNA sequence represents one CODON. Each codon specifies a particular amino acid.
However, if an Insertion mutation (addition of one or more nucleotide bases) occur in the DNA sequence that is transcibed into a mRNA sequence leaving 31 nucleotides in the DNA sequence, a maximum of 10 codons will be produced by this sequence.
If 3 nucleotides represent 1 codon
31 nucleotides will represent 31/3 = 10 codons remaining 1 nucleotide
Hence, the maximum codon that can be produced by a DNA sequence of 31 nucleotides is 10.
