List of genetic codes

While there is much commonality, different parts of the tree of life use slightly different genetic codes.^[1] When translating from genome to protein, the use of the correct genetic code is essential. The mitochondrial codes are the relatively well-known examples of variation. The translation table list below follows the numbering and designation by NCBI.^[2] Four novel alternative genetic codes were discovered in bacterial genomes by Shulgina and Eddy using their codon assignment software Codetta, and validated by analysis of tRNA anticodons and identity elements;^[3] these codes are not currently adopted at NCBI, but are numbered here 34-37, and specified in the table below.

1. The standard code
2. The vertebrate mitochondrial code
3. The yeast mitochondrial code
4. The mold, protozoan, and coelenterate mitochondrial code and the mycoplasma/spiroplasma code
5. The invertebrate mitochondrial code
6. The ciliate, dasycladacean and hexamita nuclear code
7. The deleted kinetoplast code; cf. table 4.
8. deleted, cf. table 1.
9. The echinoderm and flatworm mitochondrial code
10. The euplotid nuclear code
11. The bacterial, archaeal and plant plastid code
12. The alternative yeast nuclear code
13. The ascidian mitochondrial code
14. The alternative flatworm mitochondrial code
15. The Blepharisma nuclear code^[4]
16. The chlorophycean mitochondrial code
17. (none)
18. (none)
19. (none)
20. (none)
21. The trematode mitochondrial code
22. The Scenedesmus obliquus mitochondrial code
23. The Thraustochytrium mitochondrial code
24. The Pterobranchia mitochondrial code
25. The candidate division SR1 and gracilibacteria code
26. The Pachysolen tannophilus nuclear code
27. The karyorelict nuclear code
28. The Condylostoma nuclear code
29. The Mesodinium nuclear code
30. The peritrich nuclear code
31. The Blastocrithidia nuclear code
32. The Balanophoraceae plastid code (not shown on web)^[4][5]
33. The Cephalodiscidae mitochondrial code
34. The Enterosoma code^[3]
35. The Peptacetobacter code^[3]
36. The Anaerococcus and Onthovivens code^[3]
37. The Absconditabacterales code^[3]

The alternative translation tables (2 to 37) involve codon reassignments that are recapitulated in the DNA and RNA codon tables.

Table summary

Comparison of alternative translation tables for all codons (using IUPAC amino acid codes):

Amino-acid biochemical properties

Nonpolar

Polar

Basic

Acidic

Termination: stop codon *

Codon	Translation table ID (see above)
	1	2	3	4	5	6	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37
TTT	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F
TTC	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F	F
TTA	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	*	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
TTG	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
TCT	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
TCC	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
TCA	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	*	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
TCG	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
TAT	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
TAC	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
TAA	*	*	*	*	*	Q	*	*	*	*	*	Y	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	Q	Q	Y	E	E	*	Y	*	*	*	*
TAG	*	*	*	*	*	Q	*	*	*	*	*	*	Q	L	*	L	*	*	*	*	Q	Q	Y	E	E	W	*	*	*	*	*
TGT	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C
TGC	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C	C
TGA	*	W	W	W	W	*	W	C	*	*	W	W	*	*	W	*	*	W	G	*	W	W	*	*	W	*	W	*	*	*	G
TGG	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W
CTT	L	L	T	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
CTC	L	L	T	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
CTA	L	L	T	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
CTG	L	L	T	L	L	L	L	L	L	S	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	A	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	L
CCT	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
CCC	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
CCA	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
CCG	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
CAT	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
CAC	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
CAA	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q
CAG	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q	Q
CGT	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
CGC	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
CGA	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	W
CGG	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	Q	W	W
ATT	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
ATC	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
ATA	I	M	M	I	M	I	I	I	I	I	M	I	I	I	M	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I
ATG	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M	M
ACT	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T
ACC	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T
ACA	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T
ACG	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T	T
AAT	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
AAC	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
AAA	K	K	K	K	K	K	N	K	K	K	K	N	K	K	N	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K
AAG	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K	K
AGT	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
AGC	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
AGA	R	*	R	R	S	R	S	R	R	R	G	S	R	R	S	R	R	S	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	S	R	R	R	R
AGG	R	*	R	R	S	R	S	R	R	R	G	S	R	R	S	R	R	K	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	K	M	R	R	R
GTT	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V
GTC	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V
GTA	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V
GTG	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V	V
GCT	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
GCC	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
GCA	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
GCG	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
GAT	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
GAC	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
GAA	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E
GAG	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E
GGT	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G
GGC	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G
GGA	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G
GGG	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G	G

Notes

Three translation tables have a peculiar status:

• Table 7 is now merged into translation table 4.
• Table 8 is merged to table 1; all plant chloroplast differences due to RNA edit.
• Table 32 is not shown on the web page, but is present in the ASN.1 format "gc.prt" release.^[4]

Other mechanisms also play a part in protein biosynthesis, such as post-transcriptional modification.

References

1. Watanabe, Kimitsuna; Suzuki, Tsutomu (2001). "Genetic Code and its Variants". Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. doi:10.1038/npg.els.0000810. ISBN 047001590X.
2. Elzanowski, Andrzej; Jim Ostell (7 July 2010). "The Genetic Codes". National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
3. Shulgina, Yekaterina; Eddy, Sean R. (9 November 2021). "A computational screen for alternative genetic codes in over 250,000 genomes". eLife. 10. doi:10.7554/eLife.71402. PMC 8629427. PMID 34751130.
4. "NCBI genetic code table in ASN-1 format, with changelog: gc.prt".
5. Su, Huei-Jiun; Barkman, Todd J.; Hao, Weilong; Jones, Samuel S.; Naumann, Julia; Skippington, Elizabeth; Wafula, Eric K.; Hu, Jer-Ming; Palmer, Jeffrey D.; DePamphilis, Claude W. (15 January 2019). "Novel genetic code and record-setting AT-richness in the highly reduced plastid genome of the holoparasitic plant Balanophora". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 116 (3): 934–943. Bibcode:2019PNAS..116..934S. doi:10.1073/pnas.1816822116. PMC 6338844. PMID 30598433.

See also

• Genetic codes: list of alternative codons

External links

• NCBI List of Alternative Codes

Further reading

• Stefanie Gabriele Sammet; Ugo Bastolla & Markus Porto (14 June 2010). "Comparison of translation loads for standard and alternative genetic codes". BMC Evol Biol. 10 (178): 178. Bibcode:2010BMCEE..10..178S. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-10-178. PMC 2909233. PMID 20546599.
• Liliana Torcoroma García; Ney Ribeiro Leite; Juan D Alfonzo; Otavio Henrique Thiemann (31 July 2007). "Effects of Trypanosoma brucei tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetases silencing by RNA interference". Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz. 102 (6). Rio de Janeiro.