Life as we know it depends on the genetic code: a set of codons, each made up of three bases in a dna sequence and corresponding mrna sequence, that specifies which of the 20 amino acids will be added to the protein during translation. imagine that a prokaryote-like organism has been discovered in the polar ice on mars. interestingly, these martian organisms use the same dna → rna → protein system as life on earth, except that there are only 2 bases (a and t) in the martian dna, and there are only 17 amino acids found in martian proteins.
based on this information, what is the minimum size of a codon for these hypothetical martian life-forms?
a. 2 bases
b. 3 bases
c. 4 bases
d. 5 bases
e. 6 bases
f. the answer cannot be determined from the information provided.