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The Darwinian Genetic Code: An Adaptation for Adapting?

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Abstract

The genetic code is a ubiquitous interface between inert genetic information and living organisms, as such it plays a fundamental role in defining the process of evolution. There have been many attempts to identify features of the code that are themselves adaptations. So far, the strongest evidence for an adaptive code is that the assignments of amino acids (encoded objects) to codons (coding units) appear to be organized so as to minimize the change in amino acid hydrophobicity that results from random mutations. One possibility not previously discussed is that this feature of the code may in fact represent an adaptation to maximize the efficiency of adaptive evolution, particularly given the maximized connectedness of protein fitness landscapes afforded by the redundancy of the code.

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  1. Department of Biology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Catonsville, MD, 21250

    Stephen J. Freeland

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Freeland, S.J. The Darwinian Genetic Code: An Adaptation for Adapting?. Genet Program Evolvable Mach 3, 113–127 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015527808424

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