Relationships among isoacceptor tRNAs seems to support the coevolution theory of the origin of the genetic code

A new method for looking at relationships between nucleotide sequences has been used to analyze divergence both within and between the families of isoaccepting tRNA sets. A dendrogram of the relationships between 21 tRNA sets with different amino acid specificities is presented as the result of the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of molecular evolution 1999-02, Vol.48 (2), p.168-177
Main Authors: Chaley, M B, Korotkov, E V, Phoenix, D A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino acids
Codon
Evolution, Molecular
Evolutionary biology
Genetic Code
Genomics
Molecular biology
Ribonucleic acid
RNA
RNA, Transfer - genetics
Space life sciences
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Summary:A new method for looking at relationships between nucleotide sequences has been used to analyze divergence both within and between the families of isoaccepting tRNA sets. A dendrogram of the relationships between 21 tRNA sets with different amino acid specificities is presented as the result of the analysis. Methionine initiator tRNAs are included as a separate set. The dendrogram has been interpreted with respect to the final stage of the evolutionary pathway with the development of highly specific tRNAs from ambiguous molecular adaptors. The location of the sets on the dendrogram was therefore analyzed in relation to hypotheses on the origin of the genetic code: the coevolution theory, the physicochemical hypothesis, and the hypothesis of ambiguity reduction of the genetic code. Pairs of 16 sets of isoacceptor tRNAs, whose amino acids are in biosynthetic relationships, occupied contiguous positions on the dendrogram, thus supporting the coevolution theory of the genetic code.
ISSN:0022-2844
1432-1432
DOI:10.1007/PL00006455