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Eukaryotic evolutionary transitions are associated with extreme codon bias in functionally-related proteins.

ABSTRACT: Codon bias in the genome of an organism influences its phenome by changing the speed and efficiency of mRNA translation and hence protein abundance. We hypothesized that differences in codon bias, either between-species differences in orthologous genes, or within-species differences between genes, may play an evolutionary role. To explore this hypothesis, we compared the genome-wide codon bias in six species that occupy vital positions in the Eukaryotic Tree of Life. We acquired the entire protein coding sequences for these organisms, computed the codon bias for all genes in each organism and explored the output for relationships between codon bias and protein function, both within- and between-lineages. We discovered five notable coordinated patterns, with extreme codon bias most pronounced in traits considered highly characteristic of a given lineage. Firstly, the Homo sapiens genome had stronger codon bias for DNA-binding transcription factors than the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome, whereas the opposite was true for ribosomal proteins--perhaps underscoring transcriptional regulation in the origin of complexity. Secondly, both mammalian species examined possessed extreme codon bias in genes relating to hair--a tissue unique to mammals. Thirdly, Arabidopsis thaliana showed extreme codon bias in genes implicated in cell wall formation and chloroplast function--which are unique to plants. Fourthly, Gallus gallus possessed strong codon bias in a subset of genes encoding mitochondrial proteins--perhaps reflecting the enhanced bioenergetic efficiency in birds that co-evolved with flight. And lastly, the G. gallus genome had extreme codon bias for the Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor--which may help to explain their spontaneous recovery from deafness. We propose that extreme codon bias in groups of genes that encode functionally related proteins has a pathway-level energetic explanation.

SUBMITTER: Hudson NJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3179510 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:The H1N1 subtype of influenza A virus has caused two of the four documented pandemics and is responsible for seasonal epidemic outbreaks, presenting a continuous threat to public health. Co-circulating antigenically divergent influenza strains significantly complicates vaccine development and use. Here, by combining evolutionary, structural, functional, and population information about the H1N1 proteome, we seek to answer two questions: (1) do residues on the protein surfaces evolve faster than the protein core residues consistently across all proteins that constitute the influenza proteome? and (2) in spite of the rapid evolution of surface residues in influenza proteins, are there any protein regions on the protein surface that do not evolve? To answer these questions, we first built phylogenetically-aware models of the patterns of surface and interior substitutions. Employing these models, we found a single coherent pattern of faster evolution on the protein surfaces that characterizes all influenza proteins. The pattern is consistent with the events of inter-species reassortment, the worldwide introduction of the flu vaccine in the early 80's, as well as the differences caused by the geographic origins of the virus. Next, we developed an automated computational pipeline to comprehensively detect regions of the protein surface residues that were 100% conserved over multiple years and in multiple host species. We identified conserved regions on the surface of 10 influenza proteins spread across all avian, swine, and human strains; with the exception of a small group of isolated strains that affected the conservation of three proteins. Surprisingly, these regions were also unaffected by genetic variation in the pandemic 2009 H1N1 viral population data obtained from deep sequencing experiments. Finally, the conserved regions were intrinsically related to the intra-viral macromolecular interaction interfaces. Our study may provide further insights towards the identification of novel protein targets for influenza antivirals.

Project description:BackgroundThe expression of heterologous proteins in Escherichia coli is strongly affected by codon bias. This phenomenon occurs when the codon usage of the mRNA coding for the foreign protein differs from that of the bacterium. The ribosome pauses upon encountering a rare codon and may detach from the mRNA, thereby the yield of protein expression is reduced. Several bacterial strains have been engineered to overcome this effect. However, the increased rate of translation may lead to protein misfolding and insolubilization. In order to prove this assumption, the solubility of several recombinant proteins from plants was studied in a codon bias-adjusted E. coli strain.ResultsThe expression of eight plant proteins in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)-pLysS and BL21(DE3)-CodonPlus-pRIL was systematically studied. The CodonPlus strain contains extra copies of the argU, ileY, and leuW tRNA genes, which encode tRNAs that recognize the codons AGA/AGG, AUA and CUA, respectively (RIL codons). The level of expression and solubility of the recombinant proteins were analyzed by means of sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blotting. We found that for all proteins the solubility was at least 25% in the BL21(DE3)-pLysS strain. However, when expressed in the BL21(DE3)-CodonPlus-pRIL strain, proteins having more than 5% of amino acids coded by RIL codons were localized mainly in the insoluble fraction. Also, their expression caused retarded growth and low cell yield in the codon bias-adjusted strain at all temperatures tested. On the contrary, the solubility of proteins containing less than 5% of amino acids coded by RIL codons remained unchanged in both strains and their expression caused no effect on cell growth.ConclusionOur results show that the expression of heterologous proteins coded by high RIL codon content coding sequences in a codon bias-adjusted strain is detrimental for their solubility. Our data support the hypothesis that the possible elimination of translational pauses that increase translation rate leads to protein misfolding and aggregation. This stresses the importance of strain selection according to codon content in any scheme where a large amount of biologically active product is desirable.

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Eukaryotic evolutionary transitions are associated with extreme codon bias in functionally-related proteins.

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