On the origin of the standard genetic code as a fusion of prebiotic single-base-pair codes

TL;DR

This paper proposes a model where the standard genetic code originated from a fusion of two prebiotic codes, explaining amino acid inclusion, code evolution, and mitochondrial translation ambiguities.

Contribution

It introduces a formal fusion model of prebiotic codes that accounts for the structure and evolution of the standard genetic code, including amino acid disappearance and code epochs.

Findings

Explains the number of proteinogenic amino acids.

Describes the origin of mitochondrial translation ambiguities.

Details the structure of the oldest single-base-pair code.

Abstract

The genesis of the stand genetic code is considered as a result of a fusion of two AU- and GC-codes distributed in two dominant and two recessive domains. The fusion of these codes is described with simple empirical rules. This formal approach explains the number of the proteinogenic amino acids and the codon assignment in the resulting standard genetic code. It shows how norleucine, pyrrolysine, selenocysteine and two other unknown amino acids, included into the prebiotic codes, disappeared after the fusion. The properties of these two missing amino acids were described. The ambiguous translation observed in mitochondria is explained. The internal structure of the codes allows a more detailed insights into molecular evolution in prebiotic time. In particular, the structure of the oldest single base-pair code is presented. The fusion concept reveals the appearance of the DNA machinery on the level of the single dominant AU-code. The time before the appearance of standard genetic code is divided into four epochs: pre-DNA, 2-code, pre-fusion, and after-fusion epochs. The prebiotic single-base-pair codes may help design novel peptide-based catalysts.