On the origin of degeneracy in the genetic code
On the origin of degeneracy in the genetic code
复制标题
DOI：
10.1098/rsfs.2019.0038
复制
发表时间：
2019-12-06
期刊：
影响因子：
4.4
通讯作者：
Rosa, R.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Gonzalez, D. L.;Giannerini, S.;Rosa, R.
氨基酸编码的简并性是遗传密码中最关键和最神秘的方面之一。关于遗传密码的起源已经提出了不同的理论。然而，到目前为止，还没有一个全面的机制，可能产生的简并，因为我们观察到它的假设。在这里，我们提供了一个新的理论，解释的起源，简并只基于对称性原则。该方法允许人们精确地描述早期密码（LUCA遗传密码的祖先，最后的普遍共同祖先）的简并性，假设其具有与目前脊椎动物线粒体遗传密码相同的简并性。该理论是基于镶嵌块代码，适合作为早期代码的祖先。此外，我们详细描述了我们的理论所暗示的可能的进化转型。该方法是由一个统一的数学框架，占核和线粒体遗传密码的简并性。我们的工作为理解遗传密码的起源和对称性原则在遗传信息组织中的作用提供了一个新的视角。
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 detail the possible evolutionary transitions implied by our theory. The approach is supported by a unified mathematical framework that accounts for the degeneracy properties of both nuclear and mitochondrial genetic codes. Our work provides a new perspective to the understanding of the origin of the genetic code and the roles of symmetry principles in the organization of genetic information.