Kalin Vetsigian*, Carl Woese†,‡,§, and Nigel Goldenfeld*,‡,¶
-Author Affiliations
Departments of *Physics and †Microbiology and ‡Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
Contributed by Carl Woese, May 16, 2006
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.
horizontal gene transfer
Footnotes
§To whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail: carl@ninja.life.uiuc.edu
¶To whom correspondence may be addressed at:Department of Physics and Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, 1110 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801.E-mail: nigel@uiuc.edu
Author contributions: K.V., C.W., and N.G. designed research, performed research, and wrote the paper.
Conflict of interest statement: No conflicts declared.
Abbreviations:
Abbreviations: CIP,competition between innovation pools; HGT,horizontal gene transfer.
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