Efficient translation initiation dictates codon usage at gene start
Abstract The genetic code is degenerate; thus, protein evolution does not uniquely determine the coding sequence. One of the puzzles in evolutionary genetics is therefore to uncover evolutionary driving forces that result in specific codon choice. In many bacteria, the first 5–10 codons of protein‐c...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer Nature
2013-06-01
|
| Series: | Molecular Systems Biology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/msb.2013.32 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849738641433165824 |
|---|---|
| author | Kajetan Bentele Paul Saffert Robert Rauscher Zoya Ignatova Nils Blüthgen |
| author_facet | Kajetan Bentele Paul Saffert Robert Rauscher Zoya Ignatova Nils Blüthgen |
| author_sort | Kajetan Bentele |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The genetic code is degenerate; thus, protein evolution does not uniquely determine the coding sequence. One of the puzzles in evolutionary genetics is therefore to uncover evolutionary driving forces that result in specific codon choice. In many bacteria, the first 5–10 codons of protein‐coding genes are often codons that are less frequently used in the rest of the genome, an effect that has been argued to arise from selection for slowed early elongation to reduce ribosome traffic jams. However, genome analysis across many species has demonstrated that the region shows reduced mRNA folding consistent with pressure for efficient translation initiation. This raises the possibility that unusual codon usage is a side effect of selection for reduced mRNA structure. Here we discriminate between these two competing hypotheses, and show that in bacteria selection favours codons that reduce mRNA folding around the translation start, regardless of whether these codons are frequent or rare. Experiments confirm that primarily mRNA structure, and not codon usage, at the beginning of genes determines the translation rate. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9e69abfa1da34d9080667dcd9cbaca60 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1744-4292 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2013-06-01 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecular Systems Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-9e69abfa1da34d9080667dcd9cbaca602025-08-20T03:06:30ZengSpringer NatureMolecular Systems Biology1744-42922013-06-019111010.1038/msb.2013.32Efficient translation initiation dictates codon usage at gene startKajetan Bentele0Paul Saffert1Robert Rauscher2Zoya Ignatova3Nils Blüthgen4Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt Universität zu BerlinInsitute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of PotsdamInsitute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of PotsdamInsitute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of PotsdamInstitute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt Universität zu BerlinAbstract The genetic code is degenerate; thus, protein evolution does not uniquely determine the coding sequence. One of the puzzles in evolutionary genetics is therefore to uncover evolutionary driving forces that result in specific codon choice. In many bacteria, the first 5–10 codons of protein‐coding genes are often codons that are less frequently used in the rest of the genome, an effect that has been argued to arise from selection for slowed early elongation to reduce ribosome traffic jams. However, genome analysis across many species has demonstrated that the region shows reduced mRNA folding consistent with pressure for efficient translation initiation. This raises the possibility that unusual codon usage is a side effect of selection for reduced mRNA structure. Here we discriminate between these two competing hypotheses, and show that in bacteria selection favours codons that reduce mRNA folding around the translation start, regardless of whether these codons are frequent or rare. Experiments confirm that primarily mRNA structure, and not codon usage, at the beginning of genes determines the translation rate.https://doi.org/10.1038/msb.2013.32codon usagemRNA structuretranslation |
| spellingShingle | Kajetan Bentele Paul Saffert Robert Rauscher Zoya Ignatova Nils Blüthgen Efficient translation initiation dictates codon usage at gene start Molecular Systems Biology codon usage mRNA structure translation |
| title | Efficient translation initiation dictates codon usage at gene start |
| title_full | Efficient translation initiation dictates codon usage at gene start |
| title_fullStr | Efficient translation initiation dictates codon usage at gene start |
| title_full_unstemmed | Efficient translation initiation dictates codon usage at gene start |
| title_short | Efficient translation initiation dictates codon usage at gene start |
| title_sort | efficient translation initiation dictates codon usage at gene start |
| topic | codon usage mRNA structure translation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/msb.2013.32 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kajetanbentele efficienttranslationinitiationdictatescodonusageatgenestart AT paulsaffert efficienttranslationinitiationdictatescodonusageatgenestart AT robertrauscher efficienttranslationinitiationdictatescodonusageatgenestart AT zoyaignatova efficienttranslationinitiationdictatescodonusageatgenestart AT nilsbluthgen efficienttranslationinitiationdictatescodonusageatgenestart |