On the minimal elements of the genetic code and their semiotic functions (degeneracy, complementarity, wobbling)

Abstract

We address semiotic features of genetic coding, primarily the mechanisms for distinguishing between triplets. It implies that the minimal elements that allow codon recognition and amino acid coding should be identified. Half a century ago, linguist Roman Jakobson and microbiologist François Jacob revealed functional similarities between nucleotides in the genetic code and phonemes in natural language. Developing this analogy, we introduce the concept of a semiotic nucleotide. Unlike “material” nucleotides, its characteristics are limited to the function of differentiation within the processing of genetic information.We demonstrate that, similarly to phonemes, nucleotides are also non-elementary entities and can be represented as a set of two differential features: a) the number of rings and b) the number of hydrogen bonds. This makes it possible to convert semiotic nucleotides into double-byte units of digital information. Proceeding from this assumption, we suggest a new vision of such phenomena as the heterogeneity of the genetic code in terms of coding types, to reveal the code-distinguishing potential of positions within triplets, and represent wobbling as a specific reading regime. All these phenomena relate to the peculiarity of the triplet's third position, where complete or partial neutralization of distinguishing features is possible.