Essential Genes Embody Increased Mutational Robustness to Compensate for the Lack of Backup Genetic Redundancy.

ABSTRACT: Genetic robustness is a hallmark of cells, occurring through many mechanisms and at many levels. Essential genes lack the common robustness mechanism of genetic redundancy (i.e., existing alongside other genes with the same function), and thus appear at first glance to leave cells highly vulnerable to genetic or environmental perturbations. Here we explore a hypothesis that cells might protect against essential gene loss through mechanisms that occur at various cellular levels aside from the level of the gene. Using Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae as models, we find that essential genes are enriched over non-essential genes for properties we call "coding efficiency" and "coding robustness", denoting respectively a gene's efficiency of translation and robustness to non-synonym

SUBMITTER: Cohen O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5173180 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature