What does the wobble hypothesis explain in molecular biology?

The wobble hypothesis provides insight into how transfer RNA (tRNA) can engage with multiple codons during the process of translation. This phenomenon occurs due to the flexible pairing at the third position of the codon, where the last nucleotide can exert a less stringent bond, allowing a single tRNA to bind to more than one codon that specifies the same amino acid.

This is significant because it helps explain how a limited number of tRNA molecules can effectively decode the genetic information carried by mRNA. If each tRNA could only pair with a single codon, the number of tRNA species required would be much greater, complicating the process of protein synthesis.

The wobble hypothesis thus accounts for the efficiency and adaptability of the genetic code by allowing this relaxed pairing, which ultimately contributes to the redundancy observed in the genetic code where multiple codons can code for the same amino acid. This ability of tRNAs to recognize multiple codons is key to the accuracy and efficiency of translation in all living organisms.