A comparison between two models for understanding the origin of the tRNA molecule

Abstract

I respond to criticisms raised by Kim et al. (2018) to my model concerning the origin of the tRNA molecule. In particular, their model would hypothesize the tRNA originated due to the ligation of three hairpin structures followed by two deletions, while my model predicts that this molecule derived from the assembly of only two hairpin-like structures. Thus, using the Ockham razor, the latter model would be chosen because it required fewer hypotheses. Furthermore, the predictions on homology between the different regions of the tRNA molecule as predicted by my model would be statistically more significant than those predicted by their model. Moreover, it would be above all the existence of molecular fossils - i.e. the split tRNA genes - to corroborate the model of the assembly of only two hairpins. These fossils would be completely absent from the Kim et al. (2018) model.