stop codon
Americannoun
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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.
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Also called termination codon
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That later study also found that UAA remains the preferred stop codon in those phyllopharyngean ciliates, while UAG has repeatedly shifted into a protein coding role.
From Science Daily ● May 7, 2026
Researchers had assumed that these organisms simply reassigned the UAG stop codon to represent pyrrolysine.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 28, 2026
They swapped out the same stop codon in E. coli, but they added another layer of protection.
From Science Magazine ● Oct. 19, 2022
The stop codon is the first step in a series of steps to end translation.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
When a stop codon is encountered, a release factor binds and dissociates the components and frees the new protein.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 25, 2013
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
