Evolution and multilevel optimization of the genetic code.
The discovery of the genetic code was one of the most important advances of modern biology. But there is more to a DNA code than protein sequence; DNA carries signals for splicing, localization, folding, and regulation that are often embedded within the protein-coding sequence. In this issue, Itzkovitz and Alon show that the specific 64-to-20 mapping found in the genetic code may have been optimized for permitting protein-coding regions to carry this extra information and suggest that this property may have evolved as a side benefit of selection to minimize the negative effects of frameshift errors.
Bollenbach
Tobias
T
Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Vetsigian
Kalin
K
Kishony
Roy
R
D000596:Amino Acids / Q000235:genetics; D003062:Codon / Q000235:genetics; D018388:Codon, Terminator / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005815:Genetic Code / Q000235:genetics*; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics*; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis
D000596:Amino Acids; D003062:Codon; D018388:Codon, Terminator