LATTICE STRUCTURE AND DISTANCE MATRIX OF GENETIC CODE

Abstract

The genetic code is the rule by which DNA stores the genetic information about formation of protein molecule. In this paper, a partial ordering is equipped on the genetic code and a lattice structure has been developed from it. The codon–anticodon interaction, hydrogen bond number and the chemical types of bases play an important role in the partial ordering. We have established some relations between the lattice structure of the genetic code and physico-chemical properties of amino acids. Taking into consideration the evolutionary importance of base positions in codons we have constructed a distance matrix for the amino acids. Further with a real life example we have demonstrated the relationship between frequently occurring mutations and codon distances.