Earth may not be unique in possessing an environment where life can that Imagine

Question

Earth may not be unique in possessing an environment where life can that Imagine evolve. Imagine that space exploration reveals the existence of other forms that have evolved in a manner similar to life on earth but these life forms make proteins that are much more chemically complex than ours in that they can have one of 231 different amino acids at each position the protein (instead of 20 as we have here on earth). Assuming that nucleotides encode amino acids in the same way as life on earth, what is the minimum number of nucleotides that would be required to specify each amino acid. (i.e. how many nucleotides are required per codon). Briefly explain the reasoning that is the basis for your answer.

Explanation / Answer

For living organisms on earth, 20 amino acids are encoded by 4 different nucleic acids and their triplet combinations in a codon. There are 64 combinations of codons (43 = 64), hence the genetic code is degenerate and there are more than 1 codon specifying some of the amino acids.

As discovered by space exploration, the extraterrestrial life forms have complex proteins, consisting of 231 unique amino acids.

Therefore, the minimum number of amino acids required to form a codon are 4

Because, 4 nucleotides, taken 4 at a time will produce 44 = 256 combinations. Hence it is the minimum number of combinations required to code the 231 amino acids.

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