Biomaterial Database

An analysis of codon usage in mammals: selection or mutation bias? 1991

A C Eyre-Walker

Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

A new statistical test has been developed to detect selection on silent sites. This test compares the codon usage within a gene and thus does not require knowledge of which genes are under the greatest selection, that there exist common trends in codon usage across genes, or that genes have the same mutation pattern. It also controls for mutational biases that might be introduced by the adjacent bases. The test was applied to 62 mammalian sequences, and significant codon usage biases were detected in all three species examined (humans, rats, and mice). However, these biases appear not to be the consequence of selection, but of the first base pair in the codon influencing the mutation pattern at the third position.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008322	Mammals	Warm-blooded vertebrate animals belonging to the class Mammalia, including all that possess hair and suckle their young.	Mammalia,Mammal
D008957	Models, Genetic	Theoretical representations that simulate the behavior or activity of genetic processes or phenomena. They include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.	Genetic Models,Genetic Model,Model, Genetic
D009154	Mutation	Any detectable and heritable change in the genetic material that causes a change in the GENOTYPE and which is transmitted to daughter cells and to succeeding generations.	Mutations
D011506	Proteins	Linear POLYPEPTIDES that are synthesized on RIBOSOMES and may be further modified, crosslinked, cleaved, or assembled into complex proteins with several subunits. The specific sequence of AMINO ACIDS determines the shape the polypeptide will take, during PROTEIN FOLDING, and the function of the protein.	Gene Products, Protein,Gene Proteins,Protein,Protein Gene Products,Proteins, Gene
D003062	Codon	A set of three nucleotides in a protein coding sequence that specifies individual amino acids or a termination signal (CODON, TERMINATOR). Most codons are universal, but some organisms do not produce the transfer RNAs (RNA, TRANSFER) complementary to all codons. These codons are referred to as unassigned codons (CODONS, NONSENSE).	Codon, Sense,Sense Codon,Codons,Codons, Sense,Sense Codons
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001482	Base Composition	The relative amounts of the PURINES and PYRIMIDINES in a nucleic acid.	Base Ratio,G+C Composition,Guanine + Cytosine Composition,G+C Content,GC Composition,GC Content,Guanine + Cytosine Content,Base Compositions,Base Ratios,Composition, Base,Composition, G+C,Composition, GC,Compositions, Base,Compositions, G+C,Compositions, GC,Content, G+C,Content, GC,Contents, G+C,Contents, GC,G+C Compositions,G+C Contents,GC Compositions,GC Contents,Ratio, Base,Ratios, Base
D012641	Selection, Genetic	Differential and non-random reproduction of different genotypes, operating to alter the gene frequencies within a population.	Natural Selection,Genetic Selection,Selection, Natural
D015233	Models, Statistical	Statistical formulations or analyses which, when applied to data and found to fit the data, are then used to verify the assumptions and parameters used in the analysis. Examples of statistical models are the linear model, binomial model, polynomial model, two-parameter model, etc.	Probabilistic Models,Statistical Models,Two-Parameter Models,Model, Statistical,Models, Binomial,Models, Polynomial,Statistical Model,Binomial Model,Binomial Models,Model, Binomial,Model, Polynomial,Model, Probabilistic,Model, Two-Parameter,Models, Probabilistic,Models, Two-Parameter,Polynomial Model,Polynomial Models,Probabilistic Model,Two Parameter Models,Two-Parameter Model