Mutations to Less-Preferred Synonymous Codons in a Highly Expressed Gene of Escherichia coli: Fitness and Epistatic Interactions.

ABSTRACT: Codon-tRNA coevolution to maximize protein production has been, until recently, the dominant hypothesis to explain codon-usage bias in highly expressed bacterial genes. Two predictions of this hypothesis are 1) selection is weak; and 2) similar silent replacements at different codons should have similar fitness consequence. We used an allele-replacement strategy to change five specific 3rd-codon-position (silent) sites in the highly expressed Escherichia coli ribosomal protein gene rplQ from the wild type to a less-preferred alternative. We introduced the five mutations within a 10-codon region. Four of the silent sites were chosen to test the second prediction, with a CTG to CTA mutation being introduced at two closely linked leucine codons and an AAA to AAG mutation being introduced at t

SUBMITTER: Hauber DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4699635 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature