A strand of mRNA has the bases guanine-adenine-uracil. Which amino acid corresponds to these bases?

A. Aspartic acid (Asp)
B. Glutamic acid (Glu)
C. Histidine (His)
D. Tyrosine (Tyr)



Answer :

To decode the given mRNA sequence "GAU" and find the corresponding amino acid, we follow these steps:

1. Identify the Sequence: The mRNA sequence provided is composed of three nucleotides: guanine (G), adenine (A), and uracil (U).

2. Match the Codon: We need to determine which amino acid corresponds to the codon "GAU".

3. Use a Codon Chart: Use a codon chart to find the amino acid that corresponds to the codon "GAU". In a standard codon chart, the codon "GAU" is associated with a specific amino acid.

Here is a simplified example of how the codon chart might look like (not complete):
[tex]\[ \begin{array}{|c|c|c|c|c|} \hline \text{First Base} & U & C & A & G \\ \hline \text{Second Base} & & & & \\ \hline \text{Third Base} & & & & \\ \hline U & \text{Phe, Leu} & \text{Ser} & \text{Tyr, Stop} & \text{Cys, Trp} \\ C & \text{Leu} & \text{Pro} & \text{His, Gln} & \text{Arg} \\ A & \text{Ile, Met} & \text{Thr} & \text{Asn, Lys} & \text{Ser, Arg} \\ G & \text{Val} & \text{Ala} & \text{Asp, Glu} & \text{Gly} \\ \hline \end{array} \][/tex]

4. Locate the Codon "GAU" on the Chart:
- Within the chart, navigate to the row and column that corresponds to the bases G (first position of the codon), A (second position of the codon), and U (third position of the codon).

5. Find the Amino Acid:
- The codon "GAU" translates to the amino acid "Aspartic acid" or abbreviated as "Asp".

### Final Answer:
The amino acid that corresponds to the mRNA codon sequence "GAU" is "Aspartic acid" (Asp).

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