Transfer RNA#Anticodon

An anticodon is a short RNA portion of a tRNA, which consists of a base triplet i.e. three nucleobases. With the anticodon of the tRNA during translation of the protein attached to the codon of the mRNA which is complementary to the anticodon.

If, for example, on the mRNA, the triplet GAA, this is always a tRNA with the complementary anticodon CUU binds to that codon. Thus, the amino acid glutamic acid is incorporated at this position of the resulting peptide.

On the anticodon to a codon of the mRNA is associated with an amino acid within the amino acid sequence of the primary structure of a polypeptide. The association between codon and amino acid is called genetic code. Thus, the anticodon is directly involved in the translation of the base sequence of a DNA into the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide.

As far as the original theory. However, the exact investigation led to a problem. Excluding the three stop codons contains the genetic code 43-3 = 61 different codons. Accordingly, 61 complementary anticodon and at least as many tRNAs would be expected. One finds in a cell but not more than ( different for different organisms) about 40 different tRNAs. This Crick concluded in 1966 that certain inaccurate fits of codon and anticodon for the function of tRNA should be adequate in protein synthesis. His now well confirmed guess he called wobble hypothesis (of English. Wobble wobble = ).