Avoiding Catastrophic Mutations Accurately Predicts Amino Acid to Codon Pairing.
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| Title: | Avoiding Catastrophic Mutations Accurately Predicts Amino Acid to Codon Pairing. |
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| Authors: | Nonacs, Peter1 (AUTHOR) peter.nonacs@gmail.com, Nonacs, Thomas2 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Journal of Molecular Evolution. Feb2026, Vol. 94 Issue 1, p164-176. 13p. |
| Subjects: | Stop codons, Genetic mutation, Genetic code, Evolutionary theories, Protein folding |
| Abstract: | DNA codon mutations involving Stop signals or the amino acid cysteine can be especially damaging. The former can break protein sequences or add extraneous amino acids. The latter can add or subtract disulfide bonds crucial in protein folding. We present a hypothetical scenario where Stop codons were present early in the evolution of the genetic code; and minimizing catastrophic mutations for code networks affected all subsequent amino acid/codon pairings. Predicted features of this "Catastrophic Mutation Minimization Hypothesis" (CMMH) are that: (1) Cysteine is mutationally adjacent to Stop, isolating a contiguous codon 'neighborhood' with high potential for catastrophe. (2) The sequence of amino acid additions order determines codon assignments through minimizing network-wide mutation costs. Overall, codon locations for 16 of the 20 amino acids in the genetic code are consistent with the CMMH, as are multiple other predictions. We propose an antecedent genetic code consisted of 16 doublet codons specifying 13–14 amino acids. Two variations of these networks are less susceptible to catastrophic mutations than 88.2–97.5% of randomly generated ones. Unlike some previous hypotheses, CMMH does not require the total replacement or rearrangement of amino acids at codons, with its disruptive potential for protein synthesis. Finally, the composition of this ancestral doublet genetic code has all the modern code's utility: amino acids from four chemical types; start and stop signals; metal-binding ability; disulfide bridging for creating protein shapes; and possible epigenetic gene regulation. Thus, the modern code likely evolutionarily fine-tuned antecedent capabilities, rather than significantly increasing competence for making complex proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Molecular Evolution is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 191694400 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Avoiding Catastrophic Mutations Accurately Predicts Amino Acid to Codon Pairing. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nonacs%2C+Peter%22">Nonacs, Peter</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> peter.nonacs@gmail.com</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nonacs%2C+Thomas%22">Nonacs, Thomas</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Molecular+Evolution%22">Journal of Molecular Evolution</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 94 Issue 1, p164-176. 13p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Stop+codons%22">Stop codons</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Genetic+mutation%22">Genetic mutation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Genetic+code%22">Genetic code</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Evolutionary+theories%22">Evolutionary theories</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Protein+folding%22">Protein folding</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: DNA codon mutations involving Stop signals or the amino acid cysteine can be especially damaging. The former can break protein sequences or add extraneous amino acids. The latter can add or subtract disulfide bonds crucial in protein folding. We present a hypothetical scenario where Stop codons were present early in the evolution of the genetic code; and minimizing catastrophic mutations for code networks affected all subsequent amino acid/codon pairings. Predicted features of this "Catastrophic Mutation Minimization Hypothesis" (CMMH) are that: (1) Cysteine is mutationally adjacent to Stop, isolating a contiguous codon 'neighborhood' with high potential for catastrophe. (2) The sequence of amino acid additions order determines codon assignments through minimizing network-wide mutation costs. Overall, codon locations for 16 of the 20 amino acids in the genetic code are consistent with the CMMH, as are multiple other predictions. We propose an antecedent genetic code consisted of 16 doublet codons specifying 13–14 amino acids. Two variations of these networks are less susceptible to catastrophic mutations than 88.2–97.5% of randomly generated ones. Unlike some previous hypotheses, CMMH does not require the total replacement or rearrangement of amino acids at codons, with its disruptive potential for protein synthesis. Finally, the composition of this ancestral doublet genetic code has all the modern code's utility: amino acids from four chemical types; start and stop signals; metal-binding ability; disulfide bridging for creating protein shapes; and possible epigenetic gene regulation. Thus, the modern code likely evolutionarily fine-tuned antecedent capabilities, rather than significantly increasing competence for making complex proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Molecular Evolution is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s00239-025-10294-0 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 13 StartPage: 164 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Stop codons Type: general – SubjectFull: Genetic mutation Type: general – SubjectFull: Genetic code Type: general – SubjectFull: Evolutionary theories Type: general – SubjectFull: Protein folding Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Avoiding Catastrophic Mutations Accurately Predicts Amino Acid to Codon Pairing. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Nonacs, Peter – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Nonacs, Thomas IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 02 Text: Feb2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00222844 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 94 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: Journal of Molecular Evolution Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
