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Evolution of the Genetic Code

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Codes and Evolution

Part of the book series: Biosemiotics ((BSEM,volume 29))

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Abstract

The genetic code is the set of rules that all living cells use for the synthesis of proteins, and to this purpose they employ three different types of RNAs: the messenger-RNAs, the transfer-RNAs and the ribosomal-RNAs. The messenger-RNAs carry genetic information in the form of sequences of codons, where the codons are groups of three nucleotides. The transfer-RNAs transport amino acids to the place of protein synthesis and contain anticodons that recognize the codons of the messenger-RNAs. The ribosomal-RNAs are the molecules that actually stick amino acids together in the order provided by the messenger-RNAs.

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© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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Barbieri, M. (2024). Evolution of the Genetic Code. In: Codes and Evolution. Biosemiotics, vol 29. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-58484-8_7

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