Answer:
B. an amino acid can be encoded by several codons
Explanation:
The genetic code refers to the set of rules that govern how the four nitrogenous bases (A,U,G,C) is arranged to form amino acids. The genetic code is a collection of all the CODONS formed. There are different characteristics of the genetic code and one of them is its REDUNDANCY.
Since there are 4 nitrogenous bases combined in three's to form a codon i.e. 4³, there are 64 possible codons that could form 20 maximum amino acids. This means that there are more codons in relation to amino acids. Hence, more than one codon can encode an amino acid, and this is referred to as REDUNDANCY of the genetic code.
For example, LEUCINE amino acid is encoded by 6 codons as follows: UUA, UUG, CUU, CUC, CUA, CUG.
