Essentials in the life process indicated by the self-referential genetic code

Romeu Cardoso Guimarães

doi:10.1007/s11084-014-9380-7

Essentials in the life process indicated by the self-referential genetic code

Orig Life Evol Biosph. 2014 Dec;44(4):269-77. doi: 10.1007/s11084-014-9380-7. Epub 2015 Jan 14.

Author

Romeu Cardoso Guimarães¹

Affiliation

¹ Laboratório de Biodiversidade e Evolução Molecular, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270.901, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil, romeucardosoguimaraes@gmail.com.

PMID: 25585798
DOI: 10.1007/s11084-014-9380-7

Abstract

The self-referential genetic encoding starts with glycine and serine, in the realm of one-carbon units of metabolism. It is proposed that the prototRNA dimer-directed mechanism of protein synthesis and encoding promotes a sink dynamics that corresponds to the driving 'force' for the fixation of the supporting metabolic pathways. A succession of processes is delineated, ending up in reproduction, which accomplished the function of reinforcing the protein synthesis metabolic sink mechanism.

MeSH terms

Biological Evolution
Carbon / metabolism
Cell Division
Dimerization
Genetic Code*
Glycine / chemistry*
Glycine / metabolism
Glycine Hydroxymethyltransferase / chemistry
Glycine Hydroxymethyltransferase / metabolism
Metabolic Networks and Pathways
Models, Genetic*
Origin of Life*
Protein Biosynthesis
RNA, Transfer, Amino Acid-Specific / chemistry*
RNA, Transfer, Amino Acid-Specific / metabolism
Reproduction
Serine / chemistry*
Serine / metabolism

Substances

RNA, Transfer, Amino Acid-Specific
Serine
Carbon
Glycine Hydroxymethyltransferase
Glycine