Compositions having polynucleotides encoding multiple translational stop signals in more than one reading frame are provided. The compositions include isolated polynucleotides, expression cassettes, and vectors, as well as host cells, prokaryotic organisms, and eukaryotic organisms comprising the polynucleotide(s). Methods include using the polynucleotides to stop translation of an mRNA into a protein, to produce a transformed cell and/or organism comprising the polynucleotide, and to identify transformed cells or organisms of a specific lineage.