Dynamical Aspects of Information in Copolymerization Processes

Abstract

Natural supports of information are given by random copolymers such as DNA or RNA where information is coded in the sequence of covalent bonds. At the molecular scale, the stochastic growth of a single copolymer with or without a template proceeds by successive random attachments or detachments of monomers continuously supplied by the surrounding solution. The thermodynamics of copolymerization shows that fundamental links already exist between information and thermodynamics at the molecular scale, which opens new perspectives to understand the dynamical aspects of information in biology.