The genetic information contained in DNA consists of a linear sequence of coding units, known as codons. Each codon consists of three adjacent DNA nucleotides that correspond to a single amino acid in a protein. The E. coli DNA molecule contains 4.70*1064.70*106 base pairs. Determine the number of codons that can be present in this DNA molecule.

The correct answer is 1.57 * 10⁶ codons.

Explanation:

It is given that the number of base pairs in E. coli DNA is 4.70 * 10⁶

1 codon = 3 DNA nucleotide adjacent that codes for a single amino acid

The number of bases or nucleotides in a single strand = number of base pairs in DNA = 4.70 * 10⁶

We only have to consider the coding strands triplet codons, that is,

Number of triplet codon = 4.70 * 10⁶ / 3

= 1.57 * 10⁶ codons.