Origin and early evolution of life
Dr Eugene V Koonin
One ancestor for two codes viewed from the perspective of two complementary modes of tRNA aminoacylation
The genetic code is brought into action by 20 aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. These enzymes are evenly divided into two classes (I and II) that recognize tRNAs from the minor and major groove sides of the acceptor...
A DNA topoisomerase IB in Thaumarchaeota testifies for the presence of this enzyme in the last common ancestor of Archaea and Eucarya
DNA topoisomerase IB (TopoIB) was thought for a long time to be a eukaryotic specific enzyme. A shorter version was then found in viruses and later on in several bacteria, but not in archaea. Here, we show tha...
Authors: Céline Brochier-Armanet, Simonetta Gribaldo and Patrick Forterre
Citation: Biology Direct 2008 3:54
Evidence from glycine transfer RNA of a frozen accident at the dawn of the genetic code
Transfer RNA (tRNA) is the means by which the cell translates DNA sequence into protein according to the rules of the genetic code. A credible proposition is that tRNA was formed from the duplication of an RNA...
Authors: Harold S Bernhardt and Warren P Tate
Content type: Hypothesis
An extension of the coevolution theory of the origin of the genetic code
The coevolution theory of the origin of the genetic code suggests that the genetic code is an imprint of the biosynthetic relationships between amino acids. However, this theory does not seem to attribute a ro...
Authors: Massimo Di Giulio
Published on: 5 September 2008
The evolution of strand preference in simulated RNA replicators with strand displacement: Implications for the origin of transcription
The simplest conceivable example of evolving systems is RNA molecules that can replicate themselves. Since replication produces a new RNA strand complementary to a template, all templates would eventually beco...
Authors: Nobuto Takeuchi, Laura Salazar, Anthony M Poole and Paulien Hogeweg
The Last Universal Common Ancestor: emergence, constitution and genetic legacy of an elusive forerunner
Since the reclassification of all life forms in three Domains (Archaea, Bacteria, Eukarya), the identity of their alleged forerunner (Last Universal Common Ancestor or LUCA) has been the subject of extensive c...