Review
Copyright ©2013 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Biol Chem. Nov 26, 2013; 4(4): 79-90
Published online Nov 26, 2013. doi: 10.4331/wjbc.v4.i4.79
Rethinking quasispecies theory: From fittest type to cooperative consortia
Luis P Villarreal, Guenther Witzany
Luis P Villarreal, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, United States
Guenther Witzany, Telos-Philosophische Praxis, 5111 Buermoos, Austria
Author contributions: Both authors contributed equally to this work.
Correspondence to: Guenther Witzany, PhD, Telos-Philosophische Praxis, Vogelsangstrasse 18c, 5111 Buermoos, Austria. witzany@sbg.at
Telephone: +43-6274-6805 Fax: +43-6274-6805
Received: June 29, 2013
Revised: August 20, 2013
Accepted: September 3, 2013
Published online: November 26, 2013
Processing time: 160 Days and 17.2 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Single RNA stem-loops operate solely by chemical laws that act without selective forces, and in contrast, self-ligated consortia of RNA stem-loops operates by biological selection. To understand consortial RNA selection, the concept of single quasi-species and its mutant spectra as drivers of RNA variation and evolution is rethought here. Instead, we evaluate the current RNA world scenario in which consortia of cooperating RNA stem-loops (not individuals) are the basic players. We thus redefine quasispecies as RNA quasispecies consortia and argue that it has essential behavioral motifs that are relevant to the inherent variation, evolution and diversity in biology.