The Genetic Mechanism and the Origin of Life

Lawrence Dillon (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

563 Seiten

2012 | Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1978
Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
978-1-4684-2438-6 (ISBN)

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As shown in the text, there can be little doubt that the genetic mechanism is, for all practical purposes, equivalent to life itself. Consequently, it is unrealistic to seek knowledge of the origin of life and its subsequent evolution without si multaneously searching for an understanding of how this apparatus arose and evolved. Fortunately, the annual publication over the recent years of thousandS" of papers dealing with the genetic processes has brought the state of knowledge to a level where a synthesis of their major details in relation to life's history is feasible. Because of the voluminous body of literature, no single book can pos sibly treat all the ramifications of this fundamental subject; subdivision into multiple volumes is necessary. This volume, the first of a trilogy, explores the molecular aspects of the problem in connection with the precellular aspects up to the point of the origin of the cell. The second, currently in progress, is con cerned with the subsequent evolution of the cell as revealed by the energy related organelles and their genetic apparatuses and by ultrastructural details of other cellular parts. The third volume, as presently planned, deals with devel opmental, immunological, and other complexities at the organismic level and, in so doing, throws additional light on basic properties of the genetic processes themselves. Thus, the genetic apparatus provides the warp, and evolution the woof, of the intricate fabric that emerges.

1. Origins of Life’s Ingredients.- 1.1. The Setting.- 1.2. Prebiotic Syntheses (Stage I).- 1.3. Prebiotic Polymerization (Stage II).- 1.4. Summary.- 2. The Precellular, or Simple Interacting Systems, Level (Stage III).- 2.1. Synthetic Models of Protobionts.- 2.2. Autocatalysis.- 2.3. The Present Status of the Life Origins Problem—A Critical Assessment.- 3. The Genetic Mechanism: I. DNA, Nucleoids, and Chromatin.- 3.1. Introduction.- 3.2. The Focal Ingredients.- 3.3. The Key Macromolecule.- 3.4. Replication of DNA.- 3.5. Chromatin and the Chromosome.- 4. The Genetic Mechanism: II. the Cell’s Employment of DNA.- 4.1. The Types of Ribonucleic Acid.- 4.2. Translation and Protein Synthesis.- 5. The Genetic Mechanism: III. Transcription, Processing, and an Analytical Synopsis.- 5.1. Transcription of the DNA Molecule.- 5.2. An Alternative Protein-Synthesizing System.- 5.3. An Annotated Synopsis—Summary and Analysis.- 6. Micromolecular Evolution—The Origin of the Genetic Code.- 6.1. Conceptual Approaches.- 6.2. Mathematical Concepts.- 6.3. Biochemical Approaches.- 6.4. A Biological Concept.- 7. The Transfer Ribonucleic Acids.- 7.1. The Characteristic Molecular Features of tRNAs.- 7.2. Codon—Anticodon Interactions.- 7.3. Summary of tRNA Structural Features.- 8. Reactive Sites and the Evolution of Transfer RNAs.- 8.1. Reactive Sites of tRNAs.- 8.2. Evolutionary Relations of tRNAs.- 8.3. Origin and Evolution of tRNA.- 9. The Genetic Mechanism of Viruses.- DNA Viruses.- RNA Viruses.- 10. The Origin of Early Life.- 10.1. A Preliminary Definition of Life.- 10.2. The Distinctive Characteristics of Viruses.- 10.3. Possible Steps in the Origins of Early Life.- References.

Zusatzinfo	IX, 563 p.
Verlagsort	New York, NY
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Themenwelt	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik ► Garten
Themenwelt	Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Evolution
ISBN-10	1-4684-2438-6 / 1468424386
ISBN-13	978-1-4684-2438-6 / 9781468424386
Zustand	Neuware