The Genetic Code and the Origin of Life

About this book

Celebrates the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the double helix. This book combines two complementary approaches to address the question of the development of the Genetic Code. The first chapters provide general perspectives into the most important features of the evolution of life and the code. The rest of the chapters provide detailed analyses on the features and evolution of independent components of the code. Thus the book provides a general overview with detailed descriptions.

Contents

Foreword.- Preface.- The Early Earth -Reconstructing the Universal Tree of Life.- The Nature of the Last Common Ancestor.- Ribozyme-Catalyzed Genetics.- The Scope of Selection.- The Evolutionary History of the Translation Machinery.- Functional Evolution of Ribosomes.- Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases as Clues to Establishment of the Genetic Code.- The Relation Between Function, Structure and Evolution of Elongation Factors Tu.- Origin and Evolution of DNA and DNA Replication Machineries.- Early Evolution of DNA Repair Mechanisms.- Extant Variations in the Genetic Code.- Adaptive Evolution of the Genetic Code.- Expanding the Genetic Code in Vitro and in Vivo.- Index.

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