Download DNA Message Conversion Activity

“DNA Message Conversion Activity”
ATGCATGGTACCTATGATGACCTGCAGTACTAATTGCGTTGTCTT
TAATTGAGTACGTATCTTTTAACGCTCAAGCATGCTTACGCT
CCACTCATGCTTGCA
What is all of that gibberish? That jumble of letters actually represents a secret message encoded by DNA. A
message that you as a student will definitely be pleased to decode! This will teach you how to use the genetic
code, gaining "hands-on" experience and seeing how a sequence of DNA bases translates into a finished,
meaningful product in the form of a protein (message).
DNA » mRNA » tRNA » amino acid » protein
In order to reap the benefits of this "secret message," you must be able to use a genetic code chart to decode
the DNA sequence. You should separate the message into codons (Three Nitrogen Bases) and match those
codons with their corresponding mRNA sequences in the genetic code chart below. You should notice that the
last nucleotide of some DNA codons can vary. The letters j, v, q, h, x, and z are not coded because they are
not in the secret message.
Genetic Code Chart
Letter
A
R
P
N
B
D
C
E
I
O
Amino Acid
ala
arg
gln
asn
gly
asp
cys
glu
ile
val
mRNA
GCA
CGA
CAA
AAC
GGU
GAC
UGC
GAA
AUA
GUA
C
G
G
U
G
U
C
A
U
U
G
C
U
C
U
G
Letter
L
K
M
F
G
U
S
T
W
Y
Amino Acid
leu
lys
met
phe
his
pro
ser
thr
trp
tyr
mRNA
CUA
AAA
AUG
UUC
CAU
CCA
UCA
ACA
UGG
UAC
G
G
U
C
G
C
C
U
G
G
C
U
U
U
U