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How did life evolve on Earth almost four billion years ago? What was the central feature of the evolution of life?

These fundamental questions were answered by the University of New England’s Lei Lei, Ph.D., professor of molecular biology, in his new book, “The God Molecule: Evolution of tRNA and the Genetic Code,” co-authored by Zachary Burton, Ph.D., professor emeritus at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.

The book, , was based on a number of peer-reviewed research articles that Lei and Burton published in recent years. It discusses the origin of transfer RNA (tRNA) and its unique properties as the genetic adaptor, and it provides clear insights into evolution of the genetic code and the origin of life. The book tells a story of chemical evolution of life on Earth in the sequences of tRNAs. 

The story is detailed but remarkably rational, Lei remarked.    

Lei and Burton stated in the book, “tRNA is the God Molecule because the story of genesis of life is told in tRNA sequences, and because, without tRNA, no complex life could have evolved on Earth. Surprisingly, tRNA evolved from orderly RNA repeats and inverted repeats of a known sequence, and the record of evolution was preserved in the tRNA sequences of living organisms.”

“‘The God Molecule: Evolution of tRNA and the Genetic Code’ is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the origin of life and the genetic code,” Lei said. “And who isn’t?”