GC content of vertebrate exome landscapes reveal areas of accelerated protein evolution.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Rapid accumulation of vertebrate genome sequences render comparative genomics a powerful approach to study macro-evolutionary events. The assessment of phylogenic relationships between species routinely depends on the analysis of sequence homology at the nucleotide or protein level.

Results

We analyzed mRNA GC content, codon usage and divergence of orthologous proteins in 55 vertebrate genomes. Data were visualized in genome-wide landscapes using a sliding window approach. Landscapes of GC content reveal both evolutionary conservation of clustered genes, and lineage-specific changes, so that it was possible to construct a phylogenetic tree that closely matched the classic "tree of life". Landscapes of GC content also strongly correlated to landscapes of amino acid

SUBMITTER: Huttener R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6636035 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature