Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2026

BEST: Barcode Enabled Sequencing of Tetrads
Published on: May 1, 2014
An unusual genetic code in nuclear genes of Tetrahymena
Abstract:
We have cloned and partially sequenced two histone H3 genes of Tetrahymena thermophila. The DNA sequences strongly suggest that both genes are active in the vegetatively growing cell. Comparison of the derived amino acid sequences of these two genes with the actual sequence of Tetrahymena histone H3 results in the surprising conclusion that TAA codes for glutamine. This represents the first demonstration of a coding function for this termination codon of the "universal" code. This observation has important implications for the evolution of ciliates and of the genetic code.
More Related Videos
11:47Residue-specific Incorporation of Noncanonical Amino Acids into Model Proteins Using an Escherichia coli Cell-free Transcription-translation System
Published on: August 1, 2016
08:25Genetic Modification of Cyanobacteria by Conjugation Using the CyanoGate Modular Cloning Toolkit
Published on: October 31, 2019
Related Concept Videos
The Central Dogma
From DNA to Protein
Animal Mitochondrial Genetics
Export of Mitochondrial and Chloroplast Genes
Transfer RNA Synthesis
Each of these chemical modifications is carried by a specific enzyme, post-transcription. All of these enzymes have unique base and site-specificity. Methylation, the most common chemical modification, is carried by at least nine different enzymes, with...
The Central Dogma
RNA is the Missing Link Between DNA and Proteins
In the early 1900s, scientists discovered that DNA stores all the information needed for cellular functions and that proteins perform most of these functions. However, the mechanisms of converting genetic information into functional proteins remained unknown for many years. Initially, it was believed that a single gene is...