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Catalytic Propensity of Amino Acids and the Origins of the Genetic Code and Proteins

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The Codes of Life

Part of the book series: Biosemiotics ((BSEM,volume 1))

The origin of the genetic code is still not fully understood, despite considerable progress in the last decade. Far from being a frozen complete accident, the canonical genetic code is full of patterns that seem to open a window on its evolutionary history. In this chapter we rethink the hypothesis that the primary selective force in favour of the emergence of genetic coding was the added value by amino acids to the RNA world in the form of increased catalytic potential. We identify a novel pattern in the genetic code suggesting that the catalytic propensity of amino acids has considerably shaped its structure. This suggestion complements older ideas arguing in favour of a driving force to build the smallest stable oligopeptide structures, such as hairpins (β-turns stabilized by small β-sheets). We outline experiments to test some of the proposals.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biological Institute, Eötvös University, Budapest, Hungary

    Ádám Kun & Eörs Szathmáry

  2. Bioinformatics Group, Biological Research Center, 6726, Szeged, Hungary

    Sándor Pongor

  3. Animal Ecology Research Group of HAS, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary

    Ferenc Jordán

Authors
  1. Ádám Kun
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  2. Sándor Pongor
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  3. Ferenc Jordán
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  4. Eörs Szathmáry
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Ferrara, 44100, Ferrara, Italy

    Marcello Barbieri

  2. University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Jesper Hoffmeyer

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Kun, Á., Pongor, S., Jordán, F., Szathmáry, E. (2008). Catalytic Propensity of Amino Acids and the Origins of the Genetic Code and Proteins. In: Barbieri, M., Hoffmeyer, J. (eds) The Codes of Life. Biosemiotics, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6340-4_3

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