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Origin of the genetic code as a symbolic mapping between nucleic acids and proteins

Determine how the genetic code—a symbolic mapping that links nucleotide sequences in DNA/RNA to amino acid sequences in proteins—could emerge in evolutionary or prebiotic contexts.

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Background

The paper generalizes the Central Dogma as a division of labor between information transmission (nucleic acids) and expression (proteins) and develops a symmetry-breaking framework to explain its evolutionary origin. This framework is agnostic to chemical specifics and focuses on information-theoretic roles.

Given that DNA and proteins are linked by the genetic code, the authors identify the emergence of this symbolic relationship as an explicit open question within their broader framework.

References

Finally, we highlight several open questions that arise from reconceptualising the Central Dogma as a division of labour between information transmission and expression. First, DNA and protein molecules are linked through genetic code in reality. How does such a symbolic relationship emerge?

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