if we look at definition of genetic code....it is sequence of 3 nucleotides but we mention only nitrogenous bases in codon e.g, AUG is codon containg only 3 bases not nucleotides???????

Question

anonymous · Answer

i think geneticists are more interested in looking genetic code from the base sequence rather than whole nucleotide.

blues · Answer

Yukitou is correct. The question is somewhat one of semantics. Nucleoside or "base" refers just to the A, U, G or C part of the molecule; nucleotide refers to the entire molecule, base, ribose and phosphate. Geneticists don't really care about the ribose and phosphate because every nucleotide has them, just the base which distinguishes the various molecules from each other.