Rewiring the keyboard: evolvability of the genetic code
Abstract
The genetic code evolved in two distinct phases. First, the 'canonical' code emerged before the last universal ancestor; subsequently, this code diverged in numerous nuclear and organelle lineages. Here, we examine the distribution and causes of these secondary deviations from the canonical genetic code. The majority of non-standard codes arise from alterations in the tRNA, with most occurring by post-transcriptional modifications, such as base modification or RNA editing, rather than by substitutions within tRNA anticodons.
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The genetic code that translates genetic information into protein molecules is nearly universal.
“The cellular pathway that creates proteins from genetic information is also common across life, and the genetic code that translates genetic information into protein molecules is also nearly universal (Knight et al., 2001).”
From The Astrobiology Primer v2.0 (2016) · cites this paper as Knight et al., 2001
Cites
The genetic code is one in a million
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Pyrrolysine and Selenocysteine Use Dissimilar Decoding Strategies
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“It is an open question as to whether the genetic code of modern life was fixed by the chemical affinities between codons and amino acids (Yarus, 2000) or the result of an evolutionary optimization process (Freeland and Hurst, 1998; Knight et al., 2001).”
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“(v) Ascomycota (group containing Yarrowia and relatives) Knight et al. (2001a) list a single change in the ancestor of Metazoa, Acanthamoeba and Fungi.”
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Pathways of Genetic Code Evolution in Ancient and Modern Organisms
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Rooting the Ribosomal Tree of Life
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Lobanov, A. V., Turanov, A. A., Hatfield, D. L., & Gladyshev, V. N. (2010) · Critical Reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology · doi:10.3109/10409231003786094 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
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“The origin and evolution of the genetic code is still an open question [25,27], yet recently a modification of the stereochemical theory has made a comeback, in the form of the “escaped triplet hypothesis” of Yarus and Knight [28,29].”
Background
- Authors
- Knight, R. D., Freeland, S. J., & Landweber, L. F.
- Affiliations
- Princeton University (US)
- Venue
- Nature Reviews Genetics
- Published
- 2001-01
- Volume
- 2
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 49-58
- ISSN
- 1471-0056 (ISSN-L)
- 1471-0064
- OpenAlex
- W1502060396
- Cited by
- 435
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 1.16
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature Reviews Genetics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA modifications and cancer
- Keywords
- genetic code evolution, tRNA, anticodon, post-transcriptional modification, RNA editing, base modification, organelle genomes, codon reassignment
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Genetic Code, Mutation, Phylogeny, RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional, RNA, Transfer, Protein Biosynthesis, Evolution, Molecular
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