Evolution of the genetic code

The origin of the genetic code is not merely an evolutionary juggling of codon assignments until some optimal configuration is achieved. It is, rather, the more interesting and profound problem of how codon assignments arose. This is part and parcel of the origin of a translating mechanism. A plausible scheme for the evolution of translation starting from a simple class of nucleic acid components is presented. Such an evolution may appear unique, idiosyncratic, when viewed only in terms of structural details. However, in its general features, on a more fundamental level, this evolution is a prototype study in the refinement of a process, in the emergence of macro-order. In approaching the evolution of the genetic code the biologist will be forced to reexamine many of his fundamental prejudices, indeed, the meaning of Biology itself.

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