Evolutionary aspects of protein synthesis

Michael Bulmer

Translation of messenger RNA (mRNA) into protein is one of the most important activities of the cell. In actively dividing E. coli the translational machinery (ribosomes, transfer RNAs, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, and initiation, elongation, and release factors) comprise about 40 per cent of dry weight […]. Thus there will be strong selection pressure to ensure that translation is accurate, quick, and energetically cheap. But these objectives are mutually incompatible; accuracy can only be improved at the expense of speed and economy, and so on. As is common in evolutionary problems, there are trade-offs between conflicting aims, and the interesting question is how the balance between these is struck.

Fonte: Bulmer, M. 1988. In Harvey, P. H. & Partridge, L. Oxford Surveys in Evolutionary Biology 5: 1-40.