Re: Fw: Most popular/common dinosaur misconceptions

[Tim Williams <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>]

David Marjanovic wrote:

> Why? The tRNAs will still not bind where they should, and neither will the 
> ribosome release factor that terminates translation. Lateral gene transfer 
> can only work if the genetic codes are the same.

Translation of the whole gene can only occur if the genetic codes are the 
same.  There may be transcription and translation of a recently arrived gene 
(i.e., by lateral transfer), but the polypeptide product may be truncated.  
It depends when the first TGA comes up.  Tryptophan is one of the less 
common amino acids.

(Among bacteria, mycoplasmas also have their own genetic code.)

> This is why our mitochondria haven't lost any more genes for a long time 
> now.

They haven't gained any either.  Though gene duplications are not unknown in 
some metazoan mitochondrial genomes.

Cheers

Tim