ABSTRACT
The ribosomal cistrons and the transfer- RNA cistrons are each central parts of a genetic system, whose function, translation of messenger-RNA, is critical to the functioning of the living mechanism. The epigenetic translation of the genetic information involves complex sets of genes acting in a variable milieu of genetic and environmental effects, such that constant progressions and fixed end points eventuate. A mechanism of canalization needs to involve elements that are sensitive to environmental variation, and can translate this sensitivity into actions that are part of the epigenetic network. S. Kauffman has investigated the properties of models of genetic systems, finding that if the number of interactions per gene is restricted to a small number, then large genetic systems undergo cyclic patterns of change that are surprisingly short. It appears that a large genetic system may have a relatively simple pattern of behavior.
