stop codon

noun

, Genetics.

1. a codon that stops the synthesis of a protein molecule.

stop codon

/ stŏp /

1. Any of three codons in a molecule of messenger RNA that do not code for an amino acid and thereby signal the termination of the synthesis of a protein. The three stop codons are UAA, UAG, and UGA, where U is uracil, A is adenine, and G is guanine.
2. Also called termination codon

Example Sentences

PL0344, only TGA functions as a stop codon -- although Dr McGowan found there are more TGA codons than expected in the ciliate's DNA, believed to compensate for the loss of the other two.

From Science Daily

The team modified the bacterium’s tRNAs so that when it reads the original stop codon—say, in the genome of an invading virus—it installs an inappropriate amino acid that impairs the viral protein.

From Science Magazine

They swapped out the same stop codon in E. coli, but they added another layer of protection.

From Science Magazine

Many such mutations result in what’s called a premature stop codon, which essentially writes ‘The End’ in the middle of the gene’s protein-making instructions.

From Nature

Second, she helped to show that the triplet of RNA nucleotides UAA represents a stop codon, where protein synthesis ends.

From Nature