Reading frame

Reading frame: One of the three possible ways to read a nucleotide sequence in DNA or RNA as a series of nonoverlapping triplets, depending upon whether reading starts with the first, second or third base in the sequence. For example: with the nucleotide sequence TGCTGCTGC, the three possible reading frames are: TGC TGC TGC; and GCT GCT; and CTG CTG.