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Collective evolution and the genetic code

Kalin Vetsigian·Carl Woese·Nigel Goldenfeld
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Abstract

A dynamical theory for the evolution of the genetic code is presented, which accounts for its universality and optimality. The central concept is that a variety of collective, but non-Darwinian, mechanisms likely to be present in early communal life generically lead to refinement and selection of innovation-sharing protocols, such as the genetic code. Our proposal is illustrated using a simplified computer model, and placed within the context of a sequence of transitions that early life may have made, prior to the emergence of vertical descent.

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Kalin Vetsigian, Carl Woese, Nigel Goldenfeld. 2006-05-22. Collective evolution and the genetic code. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0603780103

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