A search for the physical basis of the genetic code

S Arbabi Moghadam; M Klobukowski; J A Tuszynski

doi:10.1016/j.biosystems.2020.104148

A search for the physical basis of the genetic code

Biosystems. 2020 Jul:195:104148. doi: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2020.104148. Epub 2020 May 4.

Authors

S Arbabi Moghadam¹, M Klobukowski², J A Tuszynski³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E1, Canada.
² Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2N4, Canada.
³ Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E1, Canada; Department of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1Z2, Canada; DIMEAS, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy. Electronic address: jack.tuszynski@gmail.com.

PMID: 32380130
DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2020.104148

Abstract

DNA contains the genetic code, which provides complete information about the synthesis of proteins in every living cell. Each gene encodes for a corresponding protein but most of the DNA sequence is non-coding. In addition to this non-coding part of the DNA, there is another redundancy, namely a multiplicity of DNA triplets (codons) corresponding to code for a given amino acid. In this paper we investigate possible physical reasons for the coding redundancy, by exploring free energy considerations and abundance probabilities as potential insights.

Keywords: Amino acid; Codon; DNA; Genetic code; Gibbs free energy; Probability distribution; Redundancy.

MeSH terms

Amino Acids
Codon
DNA / genetics*
Genetic Code*
Proteins / genetics*
Thermodynamics*

Substances

Amino Acids
Codon
Proteins
DNA