Collective evolution and the genetic code.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 16818880.
- Also identified by PMC identifier 1502294.
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Abstract
A dynamical theory for the evolution of the genetic code is presented, which accounts for its universality and optimality. The central concept is that a variety of collective, but non-Darwinian, mechanisms likely to be present in early communal life generically lead to refinement and selection of innovation-sharing protocols, such as the genetic code. Our proposal is illustrated by using a simplified computer model and placed within the context of a sequence of transitions that early life may have made, before the emergence of vertical descent.
Medical subject headings
- Evolution, Molecular
- Gene Transfer, Horizontal
- Genetic Code
- Models, Genetic