Proteins, the chaperone function and heredity

In this paper I use a case study—the discovery of the chaperon function exerted by proteins in the various steps of the hereditary process—to re-discuss the question whether the nucleic acids are the sole repositories of relevant information as assumed in the information theory of heredity. The evid...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology & philosophy 2013, Vol.28 (1), p.53-74
Main Author: Mosini, Valeria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino acids
Case studies
Cells
DNA
Education
Evolutionary Biology
Genetics
Molecular biology
Philosophy
Philosophy of Biology
Proteins
RNA
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Summary:In this paper I use a case study—the discovery of the chaperon function exerted by proteins in the various steps of the hereditary process—to re-discuss the question whether the nucleic acids are the sole repositories of relevant information as assumed in the information theory of heredity. The evidence I here present of a crucial role for molecular chaperones in the folding of nascent proteins, as well as in DNA duplication, RNA folding and gene control, suggests that the family of proteins acting as molecular chaperones provides information that is complementary to that stored in the nucleic acids, and equally important. A re-evaluation of the role of proteins in the hereditary process is in order away from the gene-centric approach of the information theory of heredity, to which neo-Darwinian evolutionists adhere.
ISSN:0169-3867
1572-8404
DOI:10.1007/s10539-012-9332-4