Berleant D, White M, Pierce E, Tudoreanu E, Boeszoermenyi A, Shtridelman Y, Macosko J C
Department of Information Science, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR 72204, USA.
Cell Biochem Biophys. 2009;55(2):107-16. doi: 10.1007/s12013-009-9060-9. Epub 2009 Jul 29.
The standard codon table is a primary tool for basic understanding of molecular biology. In the minds of many, the table's orderly arrangement of bases and amino acids is synonymous with the true genetic code, i.e., the biological coding principle itself. However, developments in the field reveal a much more complex and interesting picture. In this article, we review the traditional codon table and its limitations in light of the true complexity of the genetic code. We suggest the codon table be brought up to date and, as a step, we present a novel superposition of the BLOSUM62 matrix and an allowed point mutation matrix. This superposition depicts an important aspect of the true genetic code-its ability to tolerate mutations and mistranslations.
标准密码子表是基础分子生物学理解的主要工具。在许多人看来，该表中碱基和氨基酸的有序排列等同于真正的遗传密码，即生物编码原理本身。然而，该领域的发展揭示了一幅更为复杂和有趣的图景。在本文中，我们根据遗传密码的真正复杂性审视了传统密码子表及其局限性。我们建议更新密码子表，并且，作为第一步，我们展示了BLOSUM62矩阵与允许点突变矩阵的一种新颖叠加。这种叠加描绘了真正遗传密码的一个重要方面——其容忍突变和错译的能力。
