title: Collective evolution and the genetic code.
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 by using a simplified computer model and placed within the context of a sequence of transitions that early life may have made, before the emergence of vertical descent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Kalin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vetsigian
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Woese
authors.forename: Nigel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Goldenfeld
mesh_terms: D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D005815:Genetic Code; D008957:Models, Genetic; D005810:Multigene Family