Collective evolution and the genetic code.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Vetsigian K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC1502294 | biostudies-other | 2006 Jul
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
Publications
Collective evolution and the genetic code.
Vetsigian Kalin K Woese Carl C Goldenfeld Nigel N
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20060703 28
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 ha ...[more]
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