Semi-phenomenological classification models of the genetic code(s) using q-deformed numbers

TL;DR

This paper employs q-deformed numbers to develop a semi-phenomenological classification model of the genetic code, accounting for variants and amino acids involved in the origin of life.

Contribution

It introduces a novel q-deformation based framework to classify genetic codes and their variants, including amino acids like Selenocysteine and Pyrrolysine.

Findings

Classification scheme for genetic codes established

Numbers describing additional amino acids derived

Minimal amino acid set for origin of life identified

Abstract

The mathematical concept of q-deformations, in particular the one of qnumbers, is used to study the genetic code(s). After considering two kinds of q-numbers, for comparison, a phenomenological classification scheme of the genetic code together with its numerous minor variants is, first, established. Next, numbers describing the presence of additional amino acids, such as Selenocysteine or/and Pyrrolysine, are also produced. Finally, a minimal number of amino acids, which could fit the small number of them which are thought to have been involved, at the origin of life on Earth, is found. All together, these results constitute our final semi-phenomenological model.