Crystalizing the genetic code

Abstract

New developments are presented in the framework of the model introduced by the authors in refs. [1,2] and in which nucleotides as well as codons are classified in crystal bases of the quantum group U_q(sl(2)+sl(2)) in the limit q -> 0. An operator which gives the correspondence between the amino-acids and the codons is now obtained for any known genetic code. The free energy released by base pairing of dinucleotides as well as the relative hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity of the dinucleosides are also computed. For the vertebrate series, a universal behaviour in the ratios of codon usage frequencies is put in evidence and is shown to fit nicely in our model. Then a first attempt to represent the mutations relative to the deletion of a pyrimidine by action of a suitable crystal spinor operator is proposed. Finally recent theoretical descriptions are reviewed and compared with our model