Question

Which among these is the wobble pair?

• A. 3’ nucleotide of the tRNA and 5’ nucleotide of the mRNA
• B. 5’ nucleotide of the tRNA and 3’ nucleotide of the mRNA
• C. 5’ nucleotide of the tRNA and 5’ nucleotide of the mRNA
• D. 3’ nucleotide of the tRNA and 3’ nucleotide of the mRNA

Answer 1

The correct option is B 5’ nucleotide of the tRNA and 3’ nucleotide of the mRNA



Nucleic acid strands always bond in opposite directions or orientations and this is no different with tRNA and mRNA. mRNA is always read in the 5’-3’ direction. So that necessitates the tRNA molecule to sit on the mRNA in the 3’-5’ direction. Now since the wobble pair is the last nucleotide pair, referring to the picture, we can see that it is the 3’ nucleotide of the mRNA and the 5’ nucleotide of the tRNA that becomes the wobbly pair. This holds true for the L shaped conformation of the tRNA molecule as well.