All life copies DNA unambiguously into proteins. Archaea may be the exception.

Methane-producing archaea from the species Methanosarcina acetivorans. The microbes are stained with a fluorescent dye that specifically binds to the membranes of archaea. Alienor Baskevitch/UC BerkeleyLearn about research from the lab of Assistant Professor of Genetics, Genomics, Evolution, and Development Dipti Nayak.

Excerpt from UC Berkeley News: "A study finds that one microbe, a member of the Archaea, tolerates a little flexibility in interpreting the genetic code, contradicting a 60-year-old doctrine." Read the full Berkeley News article here

Methane-producing archaea from the species Methanosarcina acetivorans. The microbes are stained with a fluorescent dye that specifically binds to the membranes of archaea. Photo credit: Alienor Baskevitch/UC Berkeley