A group theory analysis of the ambiguities in the genetic code: on the existence of a generalized genetic code

It is known that in the transcription of genetic information there are ambiguities, i.e. the fact that a triplet codes for several aminoacids. This has generally been taken as due to errors in the transcription mechanisms. However, it has been postulated that instead of accidental miscoding, ambiguities are part of the expression of a generalized genetic code which depends on biological context. Group theory has been used to find the generalized genetic code. Here we present a new group theory approach which we think removes some weaknesses of previous works. The generalized genetic code presented here is different from that previously reported. We compare our results with experimental evidence and discuss the predictions presented.