Question

The mRNA of a hypothetical plant gene ( HSDU ) is 800-nucleotide long and encodes a protein of 160 amino acid residues. The calculated length of ( HSDU ) CDS would be ____ nucleotides (in integer).

Hint:

When calculating the length of a coding sequence (CDS), remember to multiply the number of amino acids by 3 (for each codon) and include 3 additional nucleotides for the stop codon.

Answer 1

Step 1: Understanding the relationship between amino acids and nucleotides. 
A single amino acid in a protein is encoded by a codon, which is a sequence of three nucleotides. Hence, the number of nucleotides required to encode ( n ) amino acids can be calculated as: [ {Number of nucleotides} = n times 3 ] 
Step 2: Calculation of coding sequence length. 
Given that the protein has ( 160 ) amino acid residues, the total number of nucleotides required for the coding sequence (CDS) is: [ {Length of CDS} = 160 times 3 = 480 , {nucleotides.} ] 
Step 3: Adding the stop codon. 
The stop codon at the end of the sequence adds ( 3 ) additional nucleotides. Thus, the total length of the CDS becomes: [ 480 + 3 = 483 , {nucleotides.} ] 
Step 4: Verifying the final answer. 
The calculated length of the {HSDU} CDS, including the stop codon, is ( 483 ) nucleotides. 
Conclusion: 
The length of the coding sequence (CDS) for {HSDU} is ( 483 ) nucleotides.