On the origin of degeneracy in the genetic code.

ABSTRACT: The degeneracy of amino acid coding is one of the most crucial and enigmatic aspects of the genetic code. Different theories about the origin of the genetic code have been developed. However, to date, there is no comprehensive hypothesis on the mechanism that might have generated the degeneracy as we observe it. Here, we provide a new theory that explains the origin of the degeneracy based only on symmetry principles. The approach allows one to describe exactly the degeneracy of the early code (progenitor of the genetic code of LUCA, the last universal common ancestor) which is hypothesized to have the same degeneracy as the present vertebrate mitochondrial genetic code. The theory is based upon the tessera code, that fits as the progenitor of the early code. Moreover, we describe in detai

SUBMITTER: Gonzalez DL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6802134 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature