Say a segment of DNA has been damaged by UV radiation, forming a thymine dimer. If the damage results in a mutation, it would change the codon in this segment of the DNA strand. Which of the amino acids in the following list is coded for by a codon that might be affected?

a. Alanine

b. Proline

c. Glutamate

c. Glutamate

Explanation:

Among the given amino acids, glutamate is encoded by genetic codes "GAA and GAG". An mRNA with "GAA" codon would be transcribed from the DNA template strand having "CTT" nucleotide sequence. A mutation forming thymine dimer would affect this segment of the DNA template strand and thereby, the corresponding sequence in the mRNA would also be affected. Therefore, the mutation would affect the genetic code for the amino acid glutamate.