The mRNA codons UCU, UCC, UCA, and UCG all code for the same amino acid, serine. The pattern shown by this example is something that scientists call the “wobble effect.” What does this observation demonstrate?
The answer is: A mutation in one base could have absolutely no physical effect on the resulting protein. This wobble effect is referred to the redundancy that exists in the genome. Each amino acid can be coded by three different codons. The advantage of this is that it can provide some protection against mutations. If one base pair changes, there is a possibility that it still codes for the same amino acid as before.
