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Glite Dictionary
anticodon

anticodon

1 9.1
Three bases on tRNA that match a codon on mRNA during protein building
  • noun
  • /ˈæntiˌkoʊdɒn/
  • Specialized
: anticodón
  • Each tRNA has an anticodon that is a cognate pair with a codon.

Each tRNA has an anticodon that is a cognate pair with a codon.

Examples

  • The anticodon is crucial because it ensures the correct amino acid is added to the growing polypeptide chain.

  • In transfer RNA, the sequence of the anticodon directly corresponds to a specific codon in mRNA.

  • It just reinforces to you that the codon and the anticodon are anti parallel.

  • The 16S RNA, says Pace, "is the business end of the ribosome." It serves a matchmaking role by lining up the anticodon of the transfer RNA with its corresponding messenger RNA codon.

    Academic text (2004)

  • During protein synthesis, each tRNA molecule has an anticodon that pairs with its complementary codon in messenger RNA.

Surface Forms

anticodon singular
anticodons plural

Morphology

anticodon = codon (semi-transparent) = anti + codon

The word is transparently built from 'anti-' plus 'codon', but the scientific meaning is specialized because 'anti-' here means complementary rather than simply 'against'.

Etymology

Anticodon breaks into anti- 'opposite' and codon from 'code', so an anticodon is the three-letter 'opposite' code on tRNA that pairs with a codon on mRNA when a cell makes a protein.