Question

the biotech company medicago expressed viral genes in tobacco plants to generate flu vaccines. in the genetic code, the codons cau and cac both encode amino acid histidine. this ability to interchange multiple codons for a single amino acid is an example of how the genetic code is __________. redundant, universal, and unambiguous
universal
both redundant and unambiguous
both redundant and universal
redundant

Explanation:

The genetic code is redundant because multiple codons can code for the same amino acid. In this case, CAU and CAC both code for histidine. There is no information in the question about the genetic code being universal (applying to all organisms) or unambiguous (each codon codes for only one amino acid). Since the question only highlights the multiple - codon - one - amino - acid aspect, it is an example of redundancy.

Answer:

redundant