Viral adaptation to host: a proteome-based analysis of codon usage and amino acid preferences.

ABSTRACT: Viruses differ markedly in their specificity toward host organisms. Here, we test the level of general sequence adaptation that viruses display toward their hosts. We compiled a representative data set of viruses that infect hosts ranging from bacteria to humans. We consider their respective amino acid and codon usages and compare them among the viruses and their hosts. We show that bacteria-infecting viruses are strongly adapted to their specific hosts, but that they differ from other unrelated bacterial hosts. Viruses that infect humans, but not those that infect other mammals or aves, show a strong resemblance to most mammalian and avian hosts, in terms of both amino acid and codon preferences. In groups of viruses that infect humans or other mammals, the highest observed level of adapt

SUBMITTER: Bahir I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2779085 | biostudies-literature | 2009

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature