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Influence of DNA, RNA, and protein chemistry on the symmetry-breaking origin of the Central Dogma

Determine how the specific chemical properties and functional roles of DNA, RNA, and proteins affect or interact with the multilevel-selection-induced symmetry-breaking mechanism proposed to generate the Central Dogma’s transmitter–expressor division.

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Background

While the proposed framework explains the Central Dogma’s origin through informational roles and selection dynamics, it explicitly abstracts away molecular chemistry. Biological systems, however, realize the Central Dogma using DNA, RNA, and proteins, each with distinct physicochemical properties and roles.

The authors therefore pose the open problem of integrating these material-specific factors with the abstract symmetry-breaking mechanism to understand their combined influence on the emergence and stability of the Central Dogma.

References

Finally, we highlight several open questions that arise from reconceptualising the Central Dogma as a division of labour between information transmission and expression. Third, the Central Dogma in biological systems is manifested by DNA and protein, with RNA serving as an intermediary. How do the specific chemical properties and roles of these materials influence or interact with the proposed symmetry-breaking mechanism?

— Generalising the Central Dogma as a cross-hierarchical principle of biology (2508.04085 - Takeuchi et al., 6 Aug 2025) in Section “Open questions”