title: The genetic code--more than just a table.
abstract: The standard codon table is a primary tool for basic understanding of molecular biology. In the minds of many, the table's orderly arrangement of bases and amino acids is synonymous with the true genetic code, i.e., the biological coding principle itself. However, developments in the field reveal a much more complex and interesting picture. In this article, we review the traditional codon table and its limitations in light of the true complexity of the genetic code. We suggest the codon table be brought up to date and, as a step, we present a novel superposition of the BLOSUM62 matrix and an allowed point mutation matrix. This superposition depicts an important aspect of the true genetic code-its ability to tolerate mutations and mistranslations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Information Science, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR 72204, USA. jdberleant@ualr.edu
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Berleant
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pierce
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tudoreanu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boeszoermenyi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shtridelman
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Macosko
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000235:genetics; D005815:Genetic Code; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids