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Optimization Models and the Structure of the Genetic Code

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Abstract

The codon assignment of the quasi-universal genetic code can be assumed to have resulted from the evolutionary pressures that prevailed when the code was still evolving. Here, we review studies of the structure of the genetic code based on optimization models. We also review studies that, from the structure of the code, attempt to derive aspects of the primordial circumstances in which the genetic code froze. Different rationales are summarized, compared with experimental data, discussed in the context of the transition from a RNA world to a DNA-protein world, and linked to the emergence of the last universal common ancestor.

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Acknowledgments

AK has been supported by the Discovery and Canada Research Chair Programs of the National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de Biologie Structurale et Chimie, Institut Pasteur, CNRS, 25 rue du Dr. Roux, 75724, Paris 15, France

    J. L. Jestin

  2. Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo, Ontario, N2T 3G1, Canada

    A. Kempf

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  1. J. L. Jestin
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  2. A. Kempf
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Correspondence to J. L. Jestin.

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Jestin, J.L., Kempf, A. Optimization Models and the Structure of the Genetic Code. J Mol Evol 69, 452–457 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-009-9287-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-009-9287-5

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