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The coevolution theory of the origin of the genetic code

✍ Scribed by Massimo Di Giulio

Publisher: Elsevier Science
Year: 2004
Tongue: English
Weight: 209 KB
Volume: 1
Category: Article
ISSN: 1571-0645
DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2004.05.001

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✦ Synopsis

A review of the coevolution theory of the origin of the genetic code is presented. This theory maintains that the origin of the code should be sought in the biosynthetic relationships between amino acids. In particular, some amino acids, the precursors, occupied the structure of the genetic code early on. As the product amino acids developed from these precursors, part or all of the codon domain of the precursor amino acid was ceded to the product amino acids, which resulted in the structuring of the genetic code. This paper therefore reviews the evidence in favour of this theory. The existence of some molecular fossils representing the biosynthetic pathways on which the coevolution theory suggests biosynthetic transformations took place (precursor amino acid → product amino acid) seems to be a strong corroboration of this theory. A generalisation imposed by this theory on the ancestral metabolic state is then discussed and, finally, the main prospects that seem to stem from the coevolution theory are presented.

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