Codon usage and gene expression.

L Holm

doi:10.1093/nar/14.7.3075

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Codon usage and gene expression.

L Holm

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Abstract

The hypothesis that codon usage regulates gene expression at the level of translation is tested. Codon usage of Escherichia coli and phage lambda is compared by correspondence analysis, and the basis of this hypothesis is examined by connecting codon and tRNA distributions to polypeptide elongation kinetics. Both approaches indicate that if codon usage was random tRNA limitation would only affect the rarest tRNA species. General discrimination against their cognate codons indicates that polypeptide elongation rates are maintained constant. Thus, differences in expression of E. coli genes are not a consequence of their variable codon usage. The preference of codons recognized by the most abundant tRNAs in E. coli genes encoding abundant proteins is explained by a constraint on the cost of proof-reading.

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Bacteriophage lambda Codon Escherichia coli Gene Expression Regulation Kinetics Peptide Biosynthesis Peptide Chain Elongation, Translational RNA, Messenger RNA, Transfer Repressor Proteins Journal Article

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L Holm. 1986-04-11. Codon usage and gene expression.. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar%2F14.7.3075

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