Genetic Code Ambiguity Confers a Selective Advantage on <i>Acinetobacter baylyi</i>

Abstract

A primitive genetic code, composed of a smaller set of amino acids, may have expanded via recursive periods of genetic code ambiguity that were followed by specificity. Here we model a step in this process by showing how genetic code ambiguity could result in an enhanced growth rate in Acinetobacter baylyi.