MadSci Network: Molecular Biology
Query:

Subject: What is the story behind the naming convention of stop codons?

Date: Wed Mar 29 11:36:37 2000
Posted by xian o'brien
Grade level: grad (science) School: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
City: Cambridge State/Province: MA Country: 02141
Area of science: Molecular Biology
ID: 954351397.Mb
Message:

We are having an ongoing debate in our lab concerning two stories about the 
genesis of the stop codon naming convention of amber, opal, ochre.  One 
story attributes it to eye color mutations in Drosophila.  The other, more 
fanciful, story attributes it to a grad student that offered to patch out a 
large number of plates if the mutation would be named after his grandmother 
(whose name happened to be the German for Amber).  With some fairly 
rigorous searching we've come up empty handed.  Just short of emailing 
Abelson or digging up all the original papers, I was wondering if you knew 
the answer or had a reference that I could refer to? (a reference would be 
nice in either case).  Thanks for your help.



Re: What is the story behind the naming convention of stop codons?

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