Transfer RNA: From minihelix to genetic code

Can replication and translation emerge in a single mechanism via self-assembly? The key molecule, transfer RNA (tRNA), is one of the most ancient molecules and contains the genetic code. Our experiments show how a pool of oligonucleotides, adapted with minor mutations from tRNA, spontaneously formed molecular assemblies and replicated information autonomously using only reversible hybridization under thermal oscillations. The pool of cross-complementary hairpins self-selected by agglomeration and sedimentation. The metastable DNA hairpins bound to a template and then interconnected by hybridization. Thermal oscillations separated replicates from their templates and drove an exponential, cross-catalytic replication. The molecular assembly could encode and replicate binary sequences with a replication fidelity corresponding to 85–90 % per nucleotide. The replication by a self-assembly of tRNA-like sequences suggests that early forms of tRNA could have been involved in molecular replication. This would link the evolution of translation to a mechanism of molecular replication.

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The evolutionary change of the genetic code as restricted by the anticodon and identity of transfer RNA

Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres ◽

10.1007/bf01582085 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 23 (5-6) ◽

pp. 345-364 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Takuya Ueda ◽

Kimitsuna Watanabe

Keyword(s):

Genetic Code ◽

Transfer Rna ◽

Evolutionary Change

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Book Review: Signs of Science - Linguistics meets Biology

tripleC Communication Capitalism & Critique Open Access Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society ◽

10.31269/vol9iss1pp123-125 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 123-125

Author(s):

Robert Prinz

Keyword(s):

Genetic Code ◽

Interdisciplinary Research ◽

Research Effort ◽

Transfer Rna ◽

Living Systems ◽

Semiotic Analysis ◽

Biological Organization ◽

Natural Laws ◽

Communicative Processes

„Biosemiotics“ is an integrative and interdisciplinary research effort that investigates living systems with concepts borrowed from linguistics and the communication sciences. Life is seen as an entanglement of communicative processes relating entities with each other by defined rules. Those “rules” are the very heart of (bio)semiotic analysis. A hallmark of life is the existence of rules that are very different from natural laws. We can find such rules embedded in the genetic code, for example, where a transfer RNA relates a codon in mRNA to an amino acid. Nevertheless, it could have evolved in another way as well as genetic code engineering shows. Apparently arbitrary relationships are inherent to all levels of biological organization: from cells to organisms. Parts are connected in ways that can hardly be inferred from physical (thermodynamic) principles and still await reconciliation in a reasonable manner. Essential Readings in Biosemiotics Anthology and Commentary Series: Biosemiotics, Vol. 3 Favareau, Donald (editor) 1st Edition., 2010, 880 p., 219,94 €, Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4020-9649-5

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Book Review: Signs of Science - Linguistics meets Biology

tripleC Communication Capitalism & Critique Open Access Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society ◽

10.31269/triplec.v9i1.261 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 123-125

Author(s):

Robert Prinz

Keyword(s):

Genetic Code ◽

Interdisciplinary Research ◽

Research Effort ◽

Transfer Rna ◽

Living Systems ◽

Semiotic Analysis ◽

Biological Organization ◽

Natural Laws ◽

Communicative Processes

„Biosemiotics“ is an integrative and interdisciplinary research effort that investigates living systems with concepts borrowed from linguistics and the communication sciences. Life is seen as an entanglement of communicative processes relating entities with each other by defined rules. Those “rules” are the very heart of (bio)semiotic analysis. A hallmark of life is the existence of rules that are very different from natural laws. We can find such rules embedded in the genetic code, for example, where a transfer RNA relates a codon in mRNA to an amino acid. Nevertheless, it could have evolved in another way as well as genetic code engineering shows. Apparently arbitrary relationships are inherent to all levels of biological organization: from cells to organisms. Parts are connected in ways that can hardly be inferred from physical (thermodynamic) principles and still await reconciliation in a reasonable manner. Essential Readings in Biosemiotics Anthology and Commentary Series: Biosemiotics, Vol. 3 Favareau, Donald (editor) 1st Edition., 2010, 880 p., 219,94 €, Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4020-9649-5

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Natural Suppressor Transfer RNA in Eukaryotes: Its Implication in the Evolution of the Genetic Code and Expression of Specific Genes

Molecular Biology of RNA ◽

10.1016/b978-0-12-372483-0.50023-5 ◽

1987 ◽

pp. 305-320

Author(s):

YOSHIYUKI KUCHINO ◽

NAOHIRO HANYU ◽

SUSUMU NISHIMURA ◽

HILDBURG BEIER

Keyword(s):

Genetic Code ◽

Transfer Rna

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Versatility of Synthetic tRNAs in Genetic Code Expansion

Genes ◽

10.3390/genes9110537 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (11) ◽

pp. 537 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Kyle Hoffman ◽

Ana Crnković ◽

Dieter Söll

Keyword(s):

Amino Acids ◽

Genetic Code ◽

Transfer Rna ◽

Current Status ◽

Critical Component ◽

Central Importance ◽

Translation Apparatus ◽

Genetic Code Expansion ◽

Translation Systems ◽

Multiple Interactions

Transfer RNA (tRNA) is a dynamic molecule used by all forms of life as a key component of the translation apparatus. Each tRNA is highly processed, structured, and modified, to accurately deliver amino acids to the ribosome for protein synthesis. The tRNA molecule is a critical component in synthetic biology methods for the synthesis of proteins designed to contain non-canonical amino acids (ncAAs). The multiple interactions and maturation requirements of a tRNA pose engineering challenges, but also offer tunable features. Major advances in the field of genetic code expansion have repeatedly demonstrated the central importance of suppressor tRNAs for efficient incorporation of ncAAs. Here we review the current status of two fundamentally different translation systems (TSs), selenocysteine (Sec)- and pyrrolysine (Pyl)-TSs. Idiosyncratic requirements of each of these TSs mandate how their tRNAs are adapted and dictate the techniques used to select or identify the best synthetic variants.

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