1
|
Li KX, Fan L, Wang H, Tian Y, Zhang S, Hu Q, Liu F, Chen H, Hou H. A synonymous mutation of rs1137070 cause the mice Maoa gene transcription and translation to decrease. Front Mol Neurosci 2024; 17:1406708. [PMID: 39359688 PMCID: PMC11446106 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2024.1406708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 10/04/2024] Open
Abstract
The Monoamine Oxidase-A (MAOA) EcoRV polymorphism (rs1137070) is a unique synonymous mutation (c.1409 T > C) within the MAOA gene, which plays a crucial role in Maoa gene expression and function. This study aimed to explore the relationship between the mouse Maoa rs1137070 genotype and differences in MAOA gene expression. Mice carrying the CC genotype of rs1137070 exhibited a significantly lower Maoa expression level, with an odds ratio of 2.44 compared to the T carriers. Moreover, the wild-type TT genotype of MAOA demonstrated elevated mRNA expression and a longer half-life. We also delved into the significant expression and structural disparities among genotypes. Furthermore, it was evident that different aspartic acid synonymous codons within Maoa influenced both MAOA expression and enzyme activity, highlighting the association between rs1137070 and MAOA. To substantiate these findings, a dual-luciferase reporter assay confirmed that GAC was more efficient than GAT binding. Conversely, the synonymous mutation altered Maoa gene expression in individual mice. An RNA pull-down assay suggested that this alteration could impact the interaction with RNA-binding proteins. In summary, our results illustrate that synonymous mutations can indeed regulate the downregulation of gene expression, leading to changes in MAOA function and their potential association with neurological-related diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kai Xin Li
- Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- China National Tobacco Quality Supervision and Test Center, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Tobacco Biological Effects, Zhengzhou, China
- Beijing Life Science Academy, Beijing, China
- Institute of Technical Biology and Agricultural Engineering, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
| | - Lei Fan
- China National Tobacco Quality Supervision and Test Center, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Tobacco Biological Effects, Zhengzhou, China
- Beijing Life Science Academy, Beijing, China
- Institute of Technical Biology and Agricultural Engineering, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
| | - Hongjuan Wang
- China National Tobacco Quality Supervision and Test Center, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Tobacco Biological Effects, Zhengzhou, China
- Beijing Life Science Academy, Beijing, China
| | - Yushan Tian
- China National Tobacco Quality Supervision and Test Center, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Tobacco Biological Effects, Zhengzhou, China
- Beijing Life Science Academy, Beijing, China
| | - Sen Zhang
- Department of Bioengineering, School of Chemical Engineering, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Qingyuan Hu
- Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- China National Tobacco Quality Supervision and Test Center, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Tobacco Biological Effects, Zhengzhou, China
- Beijing Life Science Academy, Beijing, China
- Institute of Technical Biology and Agricultural Engineering, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
| | - Fanglin Liu
- Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- China National Tobacco Quality Supervision and Test Center, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Tobacco Biological Effects, Zhengzhou, China
- Beijing Life Science Academy, Beijing, China
- Institute of Technical Biology and Agricultural Engineering, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China
| | - Huan Chen
- China National Tobacco Quality Supervision and Test Center, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Tobacco Biological Effects, Zhengzhou, China
- Beijing Life Science Academy, Beijing, China
| | - Hongwei Hou
- China National Tobacco Quality Supervision and Test Center, Zhengzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Tobacco Biological Effects, Zhengzhou, China
- Beijing Life Science Academy, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Rodriguez A, Diehl JD, Wright GS, Bonar CD, Lundgren TJ, Moss MJ, Li J, Milenkovic T, Huber PW, Champion MM, Emrich SJ, Clark PL. Synonymous codon substitutions modulate transcription and translation of a divergent upstream gene by modulating antisense RNA production. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2405510121. [PMID: 39190361 PMCID: PMC11388325 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2405510121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2024] [Accepted: 07/24/2024] [Indexed: 08/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Synonymous codons were originally viewed as interchangeable, with no phenotypic consequences. However, substantial evidence has now demonstrated that synonymous substitutions can perturb a variety of gene expression and protein homeostasis mechanisms, including translational efficiency, translational fidelity, and cotranslational folding of the encoded protein. To date, most studies of synonymous codon-derived perturbations have focused on effects within a single gene. Here, we show that synonymous codon substitutions made far within the coding sequence of Escherichia coli plasmid-encoded chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (cat) can significantly increase expression of the divergent upstream tetracycline resistance gene, tetR. In four out of nine synonymously recoded cat sequences tested, expression of the upstream tetR gene was significantly elevated due to transcription of a long antisense RNA (asRNA) originating from a transcription start site within cat. Surprisingly, transcription of this asRNA readily bypassed the native tet transcriptional repression mechanism. Even more surprisingly, accumulation of the TetR protein correlated with the level of asRNA, rather than total tetR RNA. These effects of synonymous codon substitutions on transcription and translation of a neighboring gene suggest that synonymous codon usage in bacteria may be under selection to both preserve the amino acid sequence of the encoded gene and avoid DNA sequence elements that can significantly perturb expression of neighboring genes. Avoiding such sequences may be especially important in plasmids and prokaryotic genomes, where genes and regulatory elements are often densely packed. Similar considerations may apply to the design of genetic circuits for synthetic biology applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anabel Rodriguez
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| | - Jacob D. Diehl
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| | - Gabriel S. Wright
- Department of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| | - Christopher D. Bonar
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| | - Taylor J. Lundgren
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| | - McKenze J. Moss
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| | - Jun Li
- Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| | - Tijana Milenkovic
- Department of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| | - Paul W. Huber
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| | - Matthew M. Champion
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| | - Scott J. Emrich
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN37996
| | - Patricia L. Clark
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Baeza M, Sepulveda D, Cifuentes V, Alcaíno J. Codon usage bias in yeasts and its correlation with gene expression, growth temperature, and protein structure. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1414422. [PMID: 39040903 PMCID: PMC11260810 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1414422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Codon usage bias (CUB) has been described in viruses, prokaryotes, and eukaryotes and has been linked to several cellular and environmental factors, such as the organism's growth temperature, gene expression levels, and regulation of protein synthesis and folding. Most of the studies in this area have been conducted in bacteria and higher eukaryotes, in some cases with different results. In this study, a comparative analysis of CUB in yeasts isolated from cold and template environments was performed in order to evaluate the correlation of CUB with yeast optimal temperature of growth (OTG), gene expression levels, cellular function, and structure of encoded proteins. Among the main findings, highly expressed ORFs tend to have a more similar CUB within and between yeasts, and a direct correlation between codons ending in C and expression level was generally found. A low correspondence between CUB and OTG was observed, with an inverse correlation for some codons ending in C. The clustering of yeasts based on their CUB partially aligns with their OTG, being more consistent for yeasts with lower OTG. In most yeasts, the abundance of preferred codons was generally lower at the 5' end of ORFs, higher in segments encoding beta strand, lower in segments encoding extracellular and transmembrane regions, and higher in "translation" and "energy metabolism" pathways, especially in highly expressed ORFs. Based on our findings, it is suggested that the abundance and distribution of preferred and non-preferred codons along mRNAs contribute to proper protein folding and functionality by regulating protein synthesis rates, becoming a more important factor under conditions that require faster protein synthesis in yeasts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marcelo Baeza
- Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | | | - Víctor Cifuentes
- Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Jennifer Alcaíno
- Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Moss MJ, Chamness LM, Clark PL. The Effects of Codon Usage on Protein Structure and Folding. Annu Rev Biophys 2024; 53:87-108. [PMID: 38134335 PMCID: PMC11227313 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-biophys-030722-020555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
The rate of protein synthesis is slower than many folding reactions and varies depending on the synonymous codons encoding the protein sequence. Synonymous codon substitutions thus have the potential to regulate cotranslational protein folding mechanisms, and a growing number of proteins have been identified with folding mechanisms sensitive to codon usage. Typically, these proteins have complex folding pathways and kinetically stable native structures. Kinetically stable proteins may fold only once over their lifetime, and thus, codon-mediated regulation of the pioneer round of protein folding can have a lasting impact. Supporting an important role for codon usage in folding, conserved patterns of codon usage appear in homologous gene families, hinting at selection. Despite these exciting developments, there remains few experimental methods capable of quantifying translation elongation rates and cotranslational folding mechanisms in the cell, which challenges the development of a predictive understanding of how biology uses codons to regulate protein folding.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- McKenze J Moss
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA; , ,
| | - Laura M Chamness
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA; , ,
| | - Patricia L Clark
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA; , ,
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Zavala B, Dineen L, Fisher KJ, Opulente DA, Harrison MC, Wolters JF, Shen XX, Zhou X, Groenewald M, Hittinger CT, Rokas A, LaBella AL. Genomic factors shaping codon usage across the Saccharomycotina subphylum. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.23.595506. [PMID: 38826271 PMCID: PMC11142207 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.23.595506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
Codon usage bias, or the unequal use of synonymous codons, is observed across genes, genomes, and between species. The biased use of synonymous codons has been implicated in many cellular functions, such as translation dynamics and transcript stability, but can also be shaped by neutral forces. The Saccharomycotina, the fungal subphylum containing the yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans , has been a model system for studying codon usage. We characterized codon usage across 1,154 strains from 1,051 species to gain insight into the biases, molecular mechanisms, evolution, and genomic features contributing to codon usage patterns across the subphylum. We found evidence of a general preference for A/T-ending codons and correlations between codon usage bias, GC content, and tRNA-ome size. Codon usage bias is also distinct between the 12 orders within the subphylum to such a degree that yeasts can be classified into orders with an accuracy greater than 90% using a machine learning algorithm trained on codon usage. We also characterized the degree to which codon usage bias is impacted by translational selection. Interestingly, the degree of translational selection was influenced by a combination of genome features and assembly metrics that included the number of coding sequences, BUSCO count, and genome length. Our analysis also revealed an extreme bias in codon usage in the Saccharomycodales associated with a lack of predicted arginine tRNAs. The order contains 24 species, and 23 are computationally predicted to lack tRNAs that decode CGN codons, leaving only the AGN codons to encode arginine. Analysis of Saccharomycodales gene expression, tRNA sequences, and codon evolution suggests that extreme avoidance of the CGN codons is associated with a decline in arginine tRNA function. Codon usage bias within the Saccharomycotina is generally consistent with previous investigations in fungi, which show a role for both genomic features and GC bias in shaping codon usage. However, we find cases of extreme codon usage preference and avoidance along yeast lineages, suggesting additional forces may be shaping the evolution of specific codons.
Collapse
|
6
|
Zhang S, Lin R, Cui L, Jiang T, Shi J, Lu C, Li P, Zhou M. Alter codon bias of the P. pastoris genome to overcome a bottleneck in codon optimization strategy development and improve protein expression. Microbiol Res 2024; 282:127629. [PMID: 38330819 DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2024.127629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Revised: 12/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Apart from its role in translation, codon bias is also an important mechanism to regulate mRNA levels. The traditional frequency-based codon optimization strategy is rather efficient in organisms such as N. crassa, but much less in yeast P. pastoris which is a popular host for heterologous protein expression. This is because that unlike N. crassa, the preferred codons of P. pastoris are actually AU-rich and hence codon optimization for extremely low GC content comes with issues of pre-mature transcriptional termination or low RNA stability in spite of translational advantages. To overcome this bottleneck, we focused on three reporter genes in P. pastoris first and confirmed the great advantage of GC-prone codon optimization on mRNA levels. Then we altered the codon bias profile of P. pastoris by introducing additional rare tRNA gene copies. Prior to that we constructed IPTG-regulated tRNA species to enable chassis cells to switch between different codon bias status. As demonstrated again with reporter genes, protein yield of luc and 0788 was successfully increased by 4-5 folds in chassis cells. In summary, here we provide an alternative codon optimization strategy for genes with unsatisfactory performance under traditional codon frequency-based optimization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Siyu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Ru Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Luyao Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Tianyi Jiang
- China Innovation Center of Roche, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Jiacheng Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Chaoyu Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Pengfei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Mian Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Kim YA, Mousavi K, Yazdi A, Zwierzyna M, Cardinali M, Fox D, Peel T, Coller J, Aggarwal K, Maruggi G. Computational design of mRNA vaccines. Vaccine 2024; 42:1831-1840. [PMID: 37479613 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.07.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/23/2023]
Abstract
mRNA technology has emerged as a successful vaccine platform that offered a swift response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Accumulating evidence shows that vaccine efficacy, thermostability, and other important properties, are largely impacted by intrinsic properties of the mRNA molecule, such as RNA sequence and structure, both of which can be optimized. Designing mRNA sequence for vaccines presents a combinatorial problem due to an extremely large selection space. For instance, due to the degeneracy of the genetic code, there are over 10632 possible mRNA sequences that could encode the spike protein, the COVID-19 vaccines' target. Moreover, designing different elements of the mRNA sequence simultaneously against multiple objectives such as translational efficiency, reduced reactogenicity, and improved stability requires an efficient and sophisticated optimization strategy. Recently, there has been a growing interest in utilizing computational tools to redesign mRNA sequences to improve vaccine characteristics and expedite discovery timelines. In this review, we explore important biophysical features of mRNA to be considered for vaccine design and discuss how computational approaches can be applied to rapidly design mRNA sequences with desirable characteristics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Jeff Coller
- Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
8
|
Zhang H, Zhou Z, Guo J. The Function, Regulation, and Mechanism of Protein Turnover in Circadian Systems in Neurospora and Other Species. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:2574. [PMID: 38473819 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25052574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2023] [Revised: 02/18/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Circadian clocks drive a large array of physiological and behavioral activities. At the molecular level, circadian clocks are composed of positive and negative elements that form core oscillators generating the basic circadian rhythms. Over the course of the circadian period, circadian negative proteins undergo progressive hyperphosphorylation and eventually degrade, and their stability is finely controlled by complex post-translational pathways, including protein modifications, genetic codon preference, protein-protein interactions, chaperon-dependent conformation maintenance, degradation, etc. The effects of phosphorylation on the stability of circadian clock proteins are crucial for precisely determining protein function and turnover, and it has been proposed that the phosphorylation of core circadian clock proteins is tightly correlated with the circadian period. Nonetheless, recent studies have challenged this view. In this review, we summarize the research progress regarding the function, regulation, and mechanism of protein stability in the circadian clock systems of multiple model organisms, with an emphasis on Neurospora crassa, in which circadian mechanisms have been extensively investigated. Elucidation of the highly complex and dynamic regulation of protein stability in circadian clock networks would greatly benefit the integrated understanding of the function, regulation, and mechanism of protein stability in a wide spectrum of other biological processes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Haoran Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Gene Function and Regulation, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Zengxuan Zhou
- MOE Key Laboratory of Gene Function and Regulation, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Jinhu Guo
- MOE Key Laboratory of Gene Function and Regulation, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Barrington CL, Galindo G, Koch AL, Horton ER, Morrison EJ, Tisa S, Stasevich TJ, Rissland OS. Synonymous codon usage regulates translation initiation. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113413. [PMID: 38096059 PMCID: PMC10790568 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2023] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Nonoptimal synonymous codons repress gene expression, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. We and others have previously shown that nonoptimal codons slow translation elongation speeds and thereby trigger messenger RNA (mRNA) degradation. Nevertheless, transcript levels are often insufficient to explain protein levels, suggesting additional mechanisms by which codon usage regulates gene expression. Using reporters in human and Drosophila cells, we find that transcript levels account for less than half of the variation in protein abundance due to codon usage. This discrepancy is explained by translational differences whereby nonoptimal codons repress translation initiation. Nonoptimal transcripts are also less bound by the translation initiation factors eIF4E and eIF4G1, providing a mechanistic explanation for their reduced initiation rates. Importantly, translational repression can occur without mRNA decay and deadenylation, and it does not depend on the known nonoptimality sensor, CNOT3. Our results reveal a potent mechanism of regulation by codon usage where nonoptimal codons repress further rounds of translation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chloe L Barrington
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA; RNA Bioscience Initiative, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Gabriel Galindo
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Amanda L Koch
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Emma R Horton
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA; RNA Bioscience Initiative, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Evan J Morrison
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA; RNA Bioscience Initiative, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Samantha Tisa
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA; RNA Bioscience Initiative, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Timothy J Stasevich
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Olivia S Rissland
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA; RNA Bioscience Initiative, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Bian B, Kumagai T, Saito Y. VeloPro: A pipeline integrating Ribo-seq and AlphaFold deciphers association patterns between translation velocity and protein structure features. IMETA 2023; 2:e148. [PMID: 38868219 PMCID: PMC10989810 DOI: 10.1002/imt2.148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
VeloPro integrates Ribo-seq data and AlphaFold2-predicted 3D protein structure information for characterization of the association patterns between translation velocity and many protein structure features in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms across different taxonomical clades such as bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematode, plants, insect, and mammals. We illustrated that association patterns between translation velocity and protein structure features differ across organisms, partially reflecting their taxonomical relationship.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bian Bian
- Department of Computational Biology and Medical SciencesGraduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of TokyoKashiwaJapan
- Artificial Intelligence Research CenterNational Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)Koto‐kuJapan
| | | | - Yutaka Saito
- Department of Computational Biology and Medical SciencesGraduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of TokyoKashiwaJapan
- Artificial Intelligence Research CenterNational Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)Koto‐kuJapan
- AIST‐Waseda University Computational Bio Big‐Data Open Innovation Laboratory (CBBD‐OIL)Shinjuku‐kuJapan
- Department of Data Science, School of Frontier EngineeringKitasato UniversitySagamiharaJapan
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Wienecke AN, Barry ML, Pollard DA. Natural variation in codon bias and mRNA folding strength interact synergistically to modify protein expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics 2023; 224:iyad113. [PMID: 37310925 PMCID: PMC10411576 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyad113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2023] [Revised: 04/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Codon bias and mRNA folding strength (mF) are hypothesized molecular mechanisms by which polymorphisms in genes modify protein expression. Natural patterns of codon bias and mF across genes as well as effects of altering codon bias and mF suggest that the influence of these 2 mechanisms may vary depending on the specific location of polymorphisms within a transcript. Despite the central role codon bias and mF may play in natural trait variation within populations, systematic studies of how polymorphic codon bias and mF relate to protein expression variation are lacking. To address this need, we analyzed genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data for 22 Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolates, estimated protein accumulation for each allele of 1,620 genes as the log of protein molecules per RNA molecule (logPPR), and built linear mixed-effects models associating allelic variation in codon bias and mF with allelic variation in logPPR. We found that codon bias and mF interact synergistically in a positive association with logPPR, and this interaction explains almost all the effects of codon bias and mF. We examined how the locations of polymorphisms within transcripts influence their effects and found that codon bias primarily acts through polymorphisms in domain-encoding and 3' coding sequences, while mF acts most significantly through coding sequences with weaker effects from untranslated regions. Our results present the most comprehensive characterization to date of how polymorphisms in transcripts influence protein expression.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anastacia N Wienecke
- Biology Department, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- Curriculum in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Margaret L Barry
- Biology Department, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA
| | - Daniel A Pollard
- Biology Department, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Mortazavi M, Torkzadeh-Mahani M, Rahimi M, Maleki M, Lotfi S, Riahi-Madvar A. Effects of synonymous mutations on kinetic properties and structure of firefly luciferase: Molecular dynamics simulation, molecular docking, RNA folding, and experimental study. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 235:123835. [PMID: 36870640 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.123835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2022] [Revised: 02/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023]
Abstract
Although synonymous mutations have long been thought to lack striking results, a growing body of research shows these mutations have highly variable effects. In this study, the impact of synonymous mutations in the development of thermostable luciferase was investigated using a combination of experimental and theoretical approaches. Using bioinformatics analysis, the codon usage features in the Lampyridae family's luciferases were studied and four synonymous mutations of Arg in luciferase were created. An exciting result was that the analysis of kinetic parameters showed a slight increase in the thermal stability of the mutant luciferase. AutoDock Vina, %MinMax algorithm, and UNAFold Server were used to perform molecular docking, folding rate, and RNA folding, respectively. Here, it was assumed that in the region (Arg337) with a moderate propensity for coil, synonymous mutation altered the rate of translation, which in turn may lead to a slight change in the structure of the enzyme. According to the molecular dynamics simulation data, local minor global flexibility is observed in the context of the protein conformation. A plausible explanation is that this flexibility may strengthen hydrophobic interactions due to its sensitivity to a molecular collision. Accordingly, thermostability originated mainly from hydrophobic interaction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mojtaba Mortazavi
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Science and High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman 7631885356, Iran.
| | - Masoud Torkzadeh-Mahani
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Science and High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman 7631885356, Iran
| | - Mehdi Rahimi
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Science and High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman 7631885356, Iran
| | - Mahmood Maleki
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Science and High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman 7631885356, Iran
| | - Safa Lotfi
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Science and High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman 7631885356, Iran
| | - Ali Riahi-Madvar
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Kosar University of Bojnord, Bojnord, Iran
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Moreira-Ramos S, Arias L, Flores R, Katz A, Levicán G, Orellana O. Synonymous mutations in the phosphoglycerate kinase 1 gene induce an altered response to protein misfolding in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Front Microbiol 2023; 13:1074741. [PMID: 36713198 PMCID: PMC9875302 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1074741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Proteostasis refers to the processes that regulate the biogenesis, folding, trafficking, and degradation of proteins. Any alteration in these processes can lead to cell malfunction. Protein synthesis, a key proteostatic process, is highly-regulated at multiple levels to ensure adequate adaptation to environmental and physiological challenges such as different stressors, proteotoxic conditions and aging, among other factors. Because alterations in protein translation can lead to protein misfolding, examining how protein translation is regulated may also help to elucidate in part how proteostasis is controlled. Codon usage bias has been implicated in the fine-tuning of translation rate, as more-frequent codons might be read faster than their less-frequent counterparts. Thus, alterations in codon usage due to synonymous mutations may alter translation kinetics and thereby affect the folding of the nascent polypeptide, without altering its primary structure. To date, it has been difficult to predict the effect of synonymous mutations on protein folding and cellular fitness due to a scarcity of relevant data. Thus, the purpose of this work was to assess the effect of synonymous mutations in discrete regions of the gene that encodes the highly-expressed enzyme 3-phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (pgk1) in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Results By means of systematic replacement of synonymous codons along pgk1, we found slightly-altered protein folding and activity in a region-specific manner. However, alterations in protein aggregation, heat stress as well as changes in proteasome activity occurred independently of the mutated region. Concomitantly, reduced mRNA levels of the chaperones Hsp9 and Hsp16 were observed. Conclusion Taken together, these data suggest that codon usage bias of the gene encoding this highly-expressed protein is an important regulator of protein function and proteostasis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Moreira-Ramos
- Programa de Biología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Loreto Arias
- Programa de Biología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Rodrigo Flores
- Programa de Biología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Assaf Katz
- Programa de Biología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Gloria Levicán
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH), Santiago, Chile
| | - Omar Orellana
- Programa de Biología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile,*Correspondence: Omar Orellana,
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Martin S, Allan KC, Pinkard O, Sweet T, Tesar PJ, Coller J. Oligodendrocyte differentiation alters tRNA modifications and codon optimality-mediated mRNA decay. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5003. [PMID: 36008413 PMCID: PMC9411196 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32766-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Oligodendrocytes are specialized cells that confer neuronal myelination in the central nervous system. Leukodystrophies associated with oligodendrocyte deficits and hypomyelination are known to result when a number of tRNA metabolism genes are mutated. Thus, for unknown reasons, oligodendrocytes may be hypersensitive to perturbations in tRNA biology. In this study, we survey the tRNA transcriptome in the murine oligodendrocyte cell lineage and find that specific tRNAs are hypomodified in oligodendrocytes within or near the anticodon compared to oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs). This hypomodified state may be the result of differential expression of key modification enzymes during oligodendrocyte differentiation. Moreover, we observe a concomitant relationship between tRNA hypomodification and tRNA decoding potential; observing oligodendrocyte specific alterations in codon optimality-mediated mRNA decay and ribosome transit. Our results reveal that oligodendrocytes naturally maintain a delicate, hypersensitized tRNA/mRNA axis. We suggest this axis is a potential mediator of pathology in leukodystrophies and white matter disease when further insult to tRNA metabolism is introduced.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Martin
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Kevin C Allan
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Otis Pinkard
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Thomas Sweet
- Center for Proteomics and Bioinformatics, Department of Nutrition, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Paul J Tesar
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Jeff Coller
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
- Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Masłowska-Górnicz A, van den Bosch MRM, Saccenti E, Suarez-Diez M. A large-scale analysis of codon usage bias in 4868 bacterial genomes shows association of codon adaptation index with GC content, protein functional domains and bacterial phenotypes. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA. GENE REGULATORY MECHANISMS 2022; 1865:194826. [PMID: 35605953 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagrm.2022.194826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Multiple synonymous codons code for the same amino acid, resulting in the degeneracy of the genetic code and in the preferred used of some codons called codon bias usage (CBU). We performed a large-scale analysis of codon usage bias analysing the distribution of the codon adaptation index (CAI) and the codon relative adaptiveness index (RA) in 4868 bacterial genomes. We found that CAI values differ significantly between protein functional domains and part of the protein outside domains and show how CAI, GC content and preferred usage of polymerase III alpha subunits are related. Additionally, we give evidence of the association between CAI and bacterial phenotypes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anna Masłowska-Górnicz
- Laboratory of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Wageningen University & Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Melanie R M van den Bosch
- Laboratory of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Wageningen University & Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Edoardo Saccenti
- Laboratory of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Wageningen University & Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Maria Suarez-Diez
- Laboratory of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Wageningen University & Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, the Netherlands.
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
McElwain L, Phair K, Kealey C, Brady D. Current trends in biopharmaceuticals production in Escherichia coli. Biotechnol Lett 2022; 44:917-931. [PMID: 35796852 DOI: 10.1007/s10529-022-03276-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Since the manufacture of the first biotech product for a fledgling biopharmaceutical industry in 1982, Escherichia coli, has played an important role in the industrial production of recombinant proteins. It is now 40 years since the introduction of Humulin® for the treatment of diabetes. E. coli remains an important production host, its use as a cell factory is well established and it has become the most popular expression platform particularly for non-glycosylated therapeutic proteins. A number of significant inherent obstacles in the use of prokaryotic expression systems to produce biologics has always restricted production. These include codon usage, the absence of post-translational modifications and proteolytic processing at the cell envelope. In this review, we reflect on the contribution that this model organism has made in the production of new biotech products for human medicine. This will include new advancements in the E. coli expression system to meet the biotechnology industry requirements, such as novel engineered strains to glycosylate heterologous proteins, add disulphide bonds and express complex proteins. The biopharmaceutical market is growing rapidly, with two production systems competing for market dominance: mammalian cells and microorganisms. In the past 10 years, with increased growth of antibody-based therapies, mammalian hosts particularly CHO cells have dominated. However, with new antibody like scaffolds and mimetics emerging as future proteins of interest, E. coli has again the opportunity to be the selected as the production system of choice.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- L McElwain
- EnviroCORE, Department of Applied Science, South East Technological University, SETU Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow, R93V960, Ireland
| | - K Phair
- EnviroCORE, Department of Applied Science, South East Technological University, SETU Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow, R93V960, Ireland
| | - C Kealey
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biotechnology, Technical University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest, Athlone Campus, Dublin Road, Kilmacuagh, Athlone, N37 HD68, County Westmeath, Ireland
| | - D Brady
- EnviroCORE, Department of Applied Science, South East Technological University, SETU Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow, R93V960, Ireland.
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Cope AL, Gilchrist MA. Quantifying shifts in natural selection on codon usage between protein regions: a population genetics approach. BMC Genomics 2022; 23:408. [PMID: 35637464 PMCID: PMC9153123 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-022-08635-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Codon usage bias (CUB), the non-uniform usage of synonymous codons, occurs across all domains of life. Adaptive CUB is hypothesized to result from various selective pressures, including selection for efficient ribosome elongation, accurate translation, mRNA secondary structure, and/or protein folding. Given the critical link between protein folding and protein function, numerous studies have analyzed the relationship between codon usage and protein structure. The results from these studies have often been contradictory, likely reflecting the differing methods used for measuring codon usage and the failure to appropriately control for confounding factors, such as differences in amino acid usage between protein structures and changes in the frequency of different structures with gene expression. Results Here we take an explicit population genetics approach to quantify codon-specific shifts in natural selection related to protein structure in S. cerevisiae and E. coli. Unlike other metrics of codon usage, our approach explicitly separates the effects of natural selection, scaled by gene expression, and mutation bias while naturally accounting for a region’s amino acid usage. Bayesian model comparisons suggest selection on codon usage varies only slightly between helix, sheet, and coil secondary structures and, similarly, between structured and intrinsically-disordered regions. Similarly, in contrast to prevous findings, we find selection on codon usage only varies slightly at the termini of helices in E. coli. Using simulated data, we show this previous work indicating “non-optimal” codons are enriched at the beginning of helices in S. cerevisiae was due to failure to control for various confounding factors (e.g. amino acid biases, gene expression, etc.), and rather than selection to modulate cotranslational folding. Conclusions Our results reveal a weak relationship between codon usage and protein structure, indicating that differences in selection on codon usage between structures are slight. In addition to the magnitude of differences in selection between protein structures being slight, the observed shifts appear to be idiosyncratic and largely codon-specific rather than systematic reversals in the nature of selection. Overall, our work demonstrates the statistical power and benefits of studying selective shifts on codon usage or other genomic features from an explicitly evolutionary approach. Limitations of this approach and future potential research avenues are discussed. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at (10.1186/s12864-022-08635-0).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander L Cope
- Genome Science and Technology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, United States.,Current Address: Department of Genetics, Rutgers University, Piscataway, United States
| | - Michael A Gilchrist
- Genome Science and Technology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, United States. .,National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, Knoxville, TN, United States. .,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Liu K, Ouyang Y, Lin R, Ge C, Zhou M. Strong negative correlation between codon usage bias and protein structural disorder impedes protein expression after codon optimization. J Biotechnol 2022; 343:15-24. [PMID: 34763006 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2021.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Revised: 10/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
As a common phenomenon existing in almost all genomes, codon usage bias has been studied for a long time. Codon optimization is a frequently used strategy to accelerate protein synthesis rate. Besides regulating protein translation speed, codon usage bias has also be reported to affect co-translation folding and transcription. P. pastoris is a well-developed expression system, whose efficiency is tightly correlated with commercial value. However, few studies focus on the role of codon usage bias in affecting protein expression in P. pastoris. Besides, many genes in P. pastoris genome show significant negative correlation between codon usage bias and protein structural disorder tendency. It's not known whether this feature is important for their expression. In order to answer these questions, we picked 4P. pastoris gene candidates with strong negative correlation between codon usage bias and protein structural disorder. We then performed full-length codon optimization which completely eliminated the correlation. Protein and RNA assays were then used to compare protein and mRNA levels before and after codon optimization. As a result, codon optimization failed to elevate their protein expression levels, and even resulted in a decrease. As represented by the trypsin sensitivity assays, codon optimization also altered the protein structure of 0616 and 0788. Besides protein, codon optimization also affected mRNA levels. Shown by in vitro and in vivo RNA degradation assays, the mRNA stability of 0616, 0788 and 0135 were also altered by codon optimization. For each gene, the detailed effect may be related with its specific sequence and protein structure. Our results suggest that codon usage bias is an important factor to regulate gene expression level, as well as mRNA and protein stabilities in P. pastoris. "Extreme" codon optimization in genes with strong negative correlation between codon usage bias and protein structural disorder tendency may not be favored. Compromised strategies should be tried if expression is not successful. Besides, codon optimization may affect protein structural conformation more severely in structural disordered proteins.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kunshan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Yaqi Ouyang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Ru Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Chenyu Ge
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Mian Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
McBride JM, Tlusty T. Slowest-first protein translation scheme: Structural asymmetry and co-translational folding. Biophys J 2021; 120:5466-5477. [PMID: 34813729 PMCID: PMC8715247 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2021.11.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Revised: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Proteins are translated from the N to the C terminus, raising the basic question of how this innate directionality affects their evolution. To explore this question, we analyze 16,200 structures from the Protein Data Bank (PDB). We find remarkable enrichment of α helices at the C terminus and β strands at the N terminus. Furthermore, this α-β asymmetry correlates with sequence length and contact order, both determinants of folding rate, hinting at possible links to co-translational folding (CTF). Hence, we propose the "slowest-first" scheme, whereby protein sequences evolved structural asymmetry to accelerate CTF: the slowest of the cooperatively folding segments are positioned near the N terminus so they have more time to fold during translation. A phenomenological model predicts that CTF can be accelerated by asymmetry in folding rate, up to double the rate, when folding time is commensurate with translation time; analysis of the PDB predicts that structural asymmetry is indeed maximal in this regime. This correspondence is greater in prokaryotes, which generally require faster protein production. Altogether, this indicates that accelerating CTF is a substantial evolutionary force whose interplay with stability and functionality is encoded in secondary structure asymmetry.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- John M McBride
- Center for Soft and Living Matter, Institute for Basic Science, Ulsan, South Korea.
| | - Tsvi Tlusty
- Center for Soft and Living Matter, Institute for Basic Science, Ulsan, South Korea; Departments of Physics and Chemistry, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, South Korea.
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Borne F, Kulathinal RJ, Courtier-Orgogozo V. Glue Genes Are Subjected to Diverse Selective Forces during Drosophila Development. Genome Biol Evol 2021; 13:6426080. [PMID: 34788814 PMCID: PMC8643421 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evab248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Molecular evolutionary studies usually focus on genes with clear roles in adult fitness or on developmental genes expressed at multiple time points during the life of the organism. Here, we examine the evolutionary dynamics of Drosophila glue genes, a set of eight genes tasked with a singular primary function during a specific developmental stage: the production of glue that allows animal pupa to attach to a substrate for several days during metamorphosis. Using phenotypic assays and available data from transcriptomics, PacBio genomes, and sequence variation from global populations, we explore the selective forces acting on glue genes within the cosmopolitan Drosophila melanogaster species and its five closely related species, D. simulans, D. sechellia, D. mauritiana, D. yakuba, and D. teissieri. We observe a three-fold difference in glue adhesion between the least and the most adhesive D. melanogaster strain, indicating a strong genetic component to phenotypic variation. These eight glue genes are among the most highly expressed genes in salivary glands yet they display no notable codon bias. New copies of Sgs3 and Sgs7 are found in D. yakuba and D. teissieri with the Sgs3 coding sequence evolving rapidly after duplication in the D. yakuba branch. Multiple sites along the various glue genes appear to be constrained. Our population genetics analysis in D. melanogaster suggests signals of local adaptive evolution for Sgs3, Sgs5, and Sgs5bis and traces of selective sweeps for Sgs1, Sgs3, Sgs7, and Sgs8. Our work shows that stage-specific genes can be subjected to various dynamic evolutionary forces.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Flora Borne
- CNRS, Institut Jacques Monod, Université de Paris, France
| | - Rob J Kulathinal
- CNRS, Institut Jacques Monod, Université de Paris, France.,Department of Biology, Temple University, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
21
|
Lyu X, Yang Q, Zhao F, Liu Y. Codon usage and protein length-dependent feedback from translation elongation regulates translation initiation and elongation speed. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:9404-9423. [PMID: 34417614 PMCID: PMC8450115 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2021] [Revised: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Essential cellular functions require efficient production of many large proteins but synthesis of large proteins encounters many obstacles in cells. Translational control is mostly known to be regulated at the initiation step. Whether translation elongation process can feedback to regulate initiation efficiency is unclear. Codon usage bias, a universal feature of all genomes, plays an important role in determining gene expression levels. Here, we discovered that there is a conserved but codon usage-dependent genome-wide negative correlation between protein abundance and CDS length. The codon usage effects on protein expression and ribosome flux on mRNAs are influenced by CDS length; optimal codon usage preferentially promotes production of large proteins. Translation of mRNAs with long CDS and non-optimal codon usage preferentially induces phosphorylation of initiation factor eIF2α, which inhibits translation initiation efficiency. Deletion of the eIF2α kinase CPC-3 (GCN2 homolog) in Neurospora preferentially up-regulates large proteins encoded by non-optimal codons. Surprisingly, CPC-3 also inhibits translation elongation rate in a codon usage and CDS length-dependent manner, resulting in slow elongation rates for long CDS mRNAs. Together, these results revealed a codon usage and CDS length-dependent feedback mechanism from translation elongation to regulate both translation initiation and elongation kinetics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xueliang Lyu
- Department of Physiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390, USA.,State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Qian Yang
- Department of Physiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Fangzhou Zhao
- Department of Physiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Yi Liu
- Department of Physiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Spanner R, Taliadoros D, Richards J, Rivera-Varas V, Neubauer J, Natwick M, Hamilton O, Vaghefi N, Pethybridge S, Secor GA, Friesen TL, Stukenbrock EH, Bolton MD. Genome-Wide Association and Selective Sweep Studies Reveal the Complex Genetic Architecture of DMI Fungicide Resistance in Cercospora beticola. Genome Biol Evol 2021; 13:6367780. [PMID: 34499119 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evab209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The rapid and widespread evolution of fungicide resistance remains a challenge for crop disease management. The demethylation inhibitor (DMI) class of fungicides is a widely used chemistry for managing disease, but there has been a gradual decline in efficacy in many crop pathosystems. Reliance on DMI fungicides has increased resistance in populations of the plant pathogenic fungus Cercospora beticola worldwide. To better understand the genetic and evolutionary basis for DMI resistance in C. beticola, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and selective sweep analysis were conducted for the first time in this species. We performed whole-genome resequencing of 190 C. beticola isolates infecting sugar beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris). All isolates were phenotyped for sensitivity to the DMI tetraconazole. Intragenic markers on chromosomes 1, 4, and 9 were significantly associated with DMI fungicide resistance, including a polyketide synthase gene and the gene encoding the DMI target CbCYP51. Haplotype analysis of CbCYP51 identified a synonymous mutation (E170) and nonsynonymous mutations (L144F, I387M, and Y464S) associated with DMI resistance. Genome-wide scans of selection showed that several of the GWAS mutations for fungicide resistance resided in regions that have recently undergone a selective sweep. Using radial plate growth on selected media as a fitness proxy, we did not find a trade-off associated with DMI fungicide resistance. Taken together, we show that population genomic data from a crop pathogen can allow the identification of mutations conferring fungicide resistance and inform about their origins in the pathogen population.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Spanner
- Northern Crop Science Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Fargo, North Dakota, USA.,Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA
| | - Demetris Taliadoros
- Environmental Genomics Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany.,Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel, Germany
| | - Jonathan Richards
- Department of Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
| | - Viviana Rivera-Varas
- Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA
| | - Jonathan Neubauer
- Northern Crop Science Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Fargo, North Dakota, USA
| | - Mari Natwick
- Northern Crop Science Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Fargo, North Dakota, USA
| | - Olivia Hamilton
- Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA
| | - Niloofar Vaghefi
- Centre for Crop Health, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
| | - Sarah Pethybridge
- School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Geneva, New York, USA
| | - Gary A Secor
- Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA
| | - Timothy L Friesen
- Northern Crop Science Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Fargo, North Dakota, USA.,Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA
| | - Eva H Stukenbrock
- Botanical Institute, Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany.,Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
| | - Melvin D Bolton
- Northern Crop Science Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Fargo, North Dakota, USA.,Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Genome-wide role of codon usage on transcription and identification of potential regulators. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2022590118. [PMID: 33526697 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2022590118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Codon usage bias is a fundamental feature of all genomes and plays an important role in determining gene expression levels. The codon usage was thought to influence gene expression mainly due to its impact on translation. Recently, however, codon usage was shown to affect transcription of fungal and mammalian genes, indicating the existence of a gene regulatory phenomenon with unknown mechanism. In Neurospora, codon usage biases strongly correlate with mRNA levels genome-wide, and here we show that the correlation between codon usage and RNA levels is maintained in the nucleus. In addition, codon optimality is tightly correlated with both total and nuclear RNA levels, suggesting that codon usage broadly influences mRNA levels through transcription in a translation-independent manner. A large-scale RNA sequencing-based genetic screen in Neurospora identified 18 candidate factors that when deleted decreased the genome-wide correlation between codon usage and RNA levels and reduced the codon usage effect on gene expression. Most of these factors, such as the H3K36 methyltransferase, are chromatin regulators or transcription factors. Together, our results suggest that the transcriptional effect of codon usage is mediated by multiple transcriptional regulatory mechanisms.
Collapse
|
24
|
Allosteric Activation of SARS-CoV-2 RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase by Remdesivir Triphosphate and Other Phosphorylated Nucleotides. mBio 2021; 12:e0142321. [PMID: 34154407 PMCID: PMC8262916 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01423-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The catalytic subunit of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) Nsp12 has a unique nidovirus RdRp-associated nucleotidyltransferase (NiRAN) domain that transfers nucleoside monophosphates to the Nsp9 protein and the nascent RNA. The NiRAN and RdRp modules form a dynamic interface distant from their catalytic sites, and both activities are essential for viral replication. We report that codon-optimized (for the pause-free translation in bacterial cells) Nsp12 exists in an inactive state in which NiRAN-RdRp interactions are broken, whereas translation by slow ribosomes and incubation with accessory Nsp7/8 subunits or nucleoside triphosphates (NTPs) partially rescue RdRp activity. Our data show that adenosine and remdesivir triphosphates promote the synthesis of A-less RNAs, as does ppGpp, while amino acid substitutions at the NiRAN-RdRp interface augment activation, suggesting that ligand binding to the NiRAN catalytic site modulates RdRp activity. The existence of allosterically linked nucleotidyl transferase sites that utilize the same substrates has important implications for understanding the mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 replication and the design of its inhibitors.
Collapse
|
25
|
Wang B, Svetlov V, Wolf YI, Koonin EV, Nudler E, Artsimovitch I. Allosteric activation of SARS-CoV-2 RdRp by remdesivir triphosphate and other phosphorylated nucleotides. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2021:2021.01.24.428004. [PMID: 33948598 PMCID: PMC8095223 DOI: 10.1101/2021.01.24.428004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
The catalytic subunit of SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), Nsp12, has a unique NiRAN domain that transfers nucleoside monophosphates to the Nsp9 protein. The NiRAN and RdRp modules form a dynamic interface distant from their catalytic sites and both activities are essential for viral replication. We report that codon-optimized (for the pause-free translation) Nsp12 exists in inactive state in which NiRAN/RdRp interactions are broken, whereas translation by slow ribosomes and incubation with accessory Nsp7/8 subunits or NTPs partially rescue RdRp activity. Our data show that adenosine and remdesivir triphosphates promote synthesis of A-less RNAs, as does ppGpp, while amino acid substitutions at the NiRAN/RdRp interface augment activation, suggesting that ligand binding to the NiRAN catalytic site modulates RdRp activity. The existence of allosterically-linked nucleotidyl transferase sites that utilize the same substrates has important implications for understanding the mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 replication and design of its inhibitors. HIGHLIGHTS Codon-optimization of Nsp12 triggers misfolding and activity lossSlow translation, accessory Nsp7 and Nsp8 subunits, and NTPs rescue Nsp12Non-substrate nucleotides activate RNA chain synthesis, likely via NiRAN domainCrosstalk between two Nsp12 active sites that bind the same ligands.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bing Wang
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- The Center for RNA Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Vladimir Svetlov
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Yuri I Wolf
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20894, USA
| | - Eugene V Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20894, USA
| | - Evgeny Nudler
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Irina Artsimovitch
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- The Center for RNA Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Xu Y, Liu K, Han Y, Xing Y, Zhang Y, Yang Q, Zhou M. Codon usage bias regulates gene expression and protein conformation in yeast expression system P. pastoris. Microb Cell Fact 2021; 20:91. [PMID: 33902585 PMCID: PMC8077831 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-021-01580-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Accepted: 04/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Protein synthesis is one of the extremely important anabolic pathways in the yeast expression system Pichia pastoris. Codon optimization is a commonly adopted strategy for improved protein expression, although unexpected failures did appear sometimes waiting for further exploration. Recently codon bias has been studied to regulate protein folding and activity in many other organisms. Results Here the codon bias profile of P. pastoris genome was examined first and a direct correlation between codon translation efficiency and usage frequency was identified. By manipulating the codon choices of both endogenous and heterologous signal peptides, secretion abilities of N-terminal signal peptides were shown to be tolerant towards codon changes. Then two gene candidates with different levels of structural disorder were studied, and full-length codon optimization was found to affect their expression profiles differentially. Finally, more evidences were provided to support possible protein conformation change brought by codon optimization in structurally disordered proteins. Conclusion Our results suggest that codon bias regulates gene expression by modulating several factors including transcription and translation efficiency, protein folding and activity. Because of sequences difference, the extent of affection may be gene specific. For some genes, special codon optimization strategy should be adopted to ensure appropriate expression and conformation. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12934-021-01580-9.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yichun Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Kunshan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Yu Han
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Yanzi Xing
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Yuanxing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China
| | - Qiuying Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Hubei, 430062, China
| | - Mian Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China.
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Kumar N, Kaushik R, Tennakoon C, Uversky VN, Longhi S, Zhang KYJ, Bhatia S. Insights into the evolutionary forces that shape the codon usage in the viral genome segments encoding intrinsically disordered protein regions. Brief Bioinform 2021; 22:6231751. [PMID: 33866372 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbab145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Revised: 03/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered regions/proteins (IDRs) are abundant across all the domains of life, where they perform important regulatory roles and supplement the biological functions of structured proteins/regions (SRs). Despite the multifunctionality features of IDRs, several interrogations on the evolution of viral genomic regions encoding IDRs in diverse viral proteins remain unreciprocated. To fill this gap, we benchmarked the findings of two most widely used and reliable intrinsic disorder prediction algorithms (IUPred2A and ESpritz) to a dataset of 6108 reference viral proteomes to unravel the multifaceted evolutionary forces that shape the codon usage in the viral genomic regions encoding for IDRs and SRs. We found persuasive evidence that the natural selection predominantly governs the evolution of codon usage in regions encoding IDRs by most of the viruses. In addition, we confirm not only that codon usage in regions encoding IDRs is less optimized for the protein synthesis machinery (transfer RNAs pool) of their host than for those encoding SRs, but also that the selective constraints imposed by codon bias sustain this reduced optimization in IDRs. Our analysis also establishes that IDRs in viruses are likely to tolerate more translational errors than SRs. All these findings hold true, irrespective of the disorder prediction algorithms used to classify IDRs. In conclusion, our study offers a novel perspective on the evolution of viral IDRs and the evolutionary adaptability to multiple taxonomically divergent hosts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Naveen Kumar
- Diagnostic & Vaccine Group, ICAR-National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal 462022, India
| | - Rahul Kaushik
- Laboratory for Structural Bioinformatics, Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, RIKEN, 1-7-22 Suehiro, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | | | - Vladimir N Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA.,Institute for Biological Instrumentation of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Federal Research Center 'Pushchino Scientific Center for Biological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences', Moscow region, Pushchino 142290, Russia
| | - Sonia Longhi
- Aix-Marseille Université and CNRS, Laboratoire Architecture et Fonction des Macromolecules Biologiques (AFMB), UMR 7257, Marseille, France
| | - Kam Y J Zhang
- Laboratory for Structural Bioinformatics, Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, RIKEN, 1-7-22 Suehiro, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Sandeep Bhatia
- Diagnostic & Vaccine Group, ICAR-National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal 462022, India
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Whittle CA, Kulkarni A, Chung N, Extavour CG. Adaptation of codon and amino acid use for translational functions in highly expressed cricket genes. BMC Genomics 2021; 22:234. [PMID: 33823803 PMCID: PMC8022432 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-021-07411-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND For multicellular organisms, much remains unknown about the dynamics of synonymous codon and amino acid use in highly expressed genes, including whether their use varies with expression in different tissue types and sexes. Moreover, specific codons and amino acids may have translational functions in highly transcribed genes, that largely depend on their relationships to tRNA gene copies in the genome. However, these relationships and putative functions are poorly understood, particularly in multicellular systems. RESULTS Here, we studied codon and amino acid use in highly expressed genes from reproductive and nervous system tissues (male and female gonad, somatic reproductive system, brain and ventral nerve cord, and male accessory glands) in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus. We report an optimal codon, defined as the codon preferentially used in highly expressed genes, for each of the 18 amino acids with synonymous codons in this organism. The optimal codons were mostly shared among tissue types and both sexes. However, the frequency of optimal codons was highest in gonadal genes. Concordant with translational selection, a majority of the optimal codons had abundant matching tRNA gene copies in the genome, but sometimes obligately required wobble tRNAs. We suggest the latter may comprise a mechanism for slowing translation of abundant transcripts, particularly for cell-cycle genes. Non-optimal codons, defined as those least commonly used in highly transcribed genes, intriguingly often had abundant tRNAs, and had elevated use in a subset of genes with specialized functions (gametic and apoptosis genes), suggesting their use promotes the translational upregulation of particular mRNAs. In terms of amino acids, we found evidence suggesting that amino acid frequency, tRNA gene copy number, and amino acid biosynthetic costs (size/complexity) had all interdependently evolved in this insect model, potentially for translational optimization. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, the results suggest a model whereby codon use in highly expressed genes, including optimal, wobble, and non-optimal codons, and their tRNA abundances, as well as amino acid use, have been influenced by adaptation for various functional roles in translation within this cricket. The effects of expression in different tissue types and the two sexes are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carrie A Whittle
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Arpita Kulkarni
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Nina Chung
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Cassandra G Extavour
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, 02138, MA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Hia F, Takeuchi O. The effects of codon bias and optimality on mRNA and protein regulation. Cell Mol Life Sci 2021; 78:1909-1928. [PMID: 33128106 PMCID: PMC11072601 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-020-03685-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Revised: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The central dogma of molecular biology entails that genetic information is transferred from nucleic acid to proteins. Notwithstanding retro-transcribing genetic elements, DNA is transcribed to RNA which in turn is translated into proteins. Recent advancements have shown that each stage is regulated to control protein abundances for a variety of essential physiological processes. In this regard, mRNA regulation is essential in fine-tuning or calibrating protein abundances. In this review, we would like to discuss one of several mRNA-intrinsic features of mRNA regulation that has been gaining traction of recent-codon bias and optimality. Specifically, we address the effects of codon bias with regard to codon optimality in several biological processes centred on translation, such as mRNA stability and protein folding among others. Finally, we examine how different organisms or cell types, through this system, are able to coordinate physiological pathways to respond to a variety of stress or growth conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Hia
- Department of Medical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Osamu Takeuchi
- Department of Medical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Arias L, Martínez F, González D, Flores-Ríos R, Katz A, Tello M, Moreira S, Orellana O. Modification of Transfer RNA Levels Affects Cyclin Aggregation and the Correct Duplication of Yeast Cells. Front Microbiol 2021; 11:607693. [PMID: 33519754 PMCID: PMC7843576 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.607693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Codon usage bias (the preferential use of certain synonymous codons (optimal) over others is found at the organism level (intergenomic) within specific genomes (intragenomic) and even in certain genes. Whether it is the result of genetic drift due to GC/AT content and/or natural selection is a topic of intense debate. Preferential codons are mostly found in genes encoding highly-expressed proteins, while lowly-expressed proteins usually contain a high proportion of rare (lowly-represented) codons. While optimal codons are decoded by highly expressed tRNAs, rare codons are usually decoded by lowly-represented tRNAs. Whether rare codons play a role in controlling the expression of lowly- or temporarily-expressed proteins is an open question. In this work we approached this question using two strategies, either by replacing rare glycine codons with optimal counterparts in the gene that encodes the cell cycle protein Cdc13, or by overexpression the tRNA Gly that decodes rare codons from the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. While the replacement of synonymous codons severely affected cell growth, increasing tRNA levels affected the aggregation status of Cdc13 and cell division. These lead us to think that rare codons in lowly-expressed cyclin proteins are crucial for cell division, and that the overexpression of tRNA that decodes rare codons affects the expression of proteins containing these rare codons. These codons may be the result of the natural selection of codons in genes that encode lowly-expressed proteins.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Loreto Arias
- Programa de Biología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Fabián Martínez
- Programa de Biología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Daniela González
- Programa de Biología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Rodrigo Flores-Ríos
- Programa de Biología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Assaf Katz
- Programa de Biología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Mario Tello
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Sandra Moreira
- Programa de Biología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Omar Orellana
- Programa de Biología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Liu Y, Yang Q, Zhao F. Synonymous but Not Silent: The Codon Usage Code for Gene Expression and Protein Folding. Annu Rev Biochem 2021; 90:375-401. [PMID: 33441035 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-biochem-071320-112701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Codon usage bias, the preference for certain synonymous codons, is found in all genomes. Although synonymous mutations were previously thought to be silent, a large body of evidence has demonstrated that codon usage can play major roles in determining gene expression levels and protein structures. Codon usage influences translation elongation speed and regulates translation efficiency and accuracy. Adaptation of codon usage to tRNA expression determines the proteome landscape. In addition, codon usage biases result in nonuniform ribosome decoding rates on mRNAs, which in turn influence the cotranslational protein folding process that is critical for protein function in diverse biological processes. Conserved genome-wide correlations have also been found between codon usage and protein structures. Furthermore, codon usage is a major determinant of mRNA levels through translation-dependent effects on mRNA decay and translation-independent effects on transcriptional and posttranscriptional processes. Here, we discuss the multifaceted roles and mechanisms of codon usage in different gene regulatory processes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yi Liu
- Department of Physiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390-9040, USA;
| | - Qian Yang
- Department of Physiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390-9040, USA;
| | - Fangzhou Zhao
- Department of Physiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390-9040, USA;
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Newaz K, Wright G, Piland J, Li J, Clark PL, Emrich SJ, Milenković T. Network analysis of synonymous codon usage. Bioinformatics 2020; 36:4876-4884. [PMID: 32609328 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btaa603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2019] [Revised: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION Most amino acids are encoded by multiple synonymous codons, some of which are used more rarely than others. Analyses of positions of such rare codons in protein sequences revealed that rare codons can impact co-translational protein folding and that positions of some rare codons are evolutionarily conserved. Analyses of their positions in protein 3-dimensional structures, which are richer in biochemical information than sequences alone, might further explain the role of rare codons in protein folding. RESULTS We model protein structures as networks and use network centrality to measure the structural position of an amino acid. We first validate that amino acids buried within the structural core are network-central, and those on the surface are not. Then, we study potential differences between network centralities and thus structural positions of amino acids encoded by conserved rare, non-conserved rare and commonly used codons. We find that in 84% of proteins, the three codon categories occupy significantly different structural positions. We examine protein groups showing different codon centrality trends, i.e. different relationships between structural positions of the three codon categories. We see several cases of all proteins from our data with some structural or functional property being in the same group. Also, we see a case of all proteins in some group having the same property. Our work shows that codon usage is linked to the final protein structure and thus possibly to co-translational protein folding. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION https://nd.edu/∼cone/CodonUsage/. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Khalique Newaz
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering.,Center for Network and Data Science.,Eck institute for Global Health
| | - Gabriel Wright
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering.,Eck institute for Global Health
| | - Jacob Piland
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering.,Center for Network and Data Science.,Eck institute for Global Health
| | - Jun Li
- Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics
| | - Patricia L Clark
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
| | - Scott J Emrich
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Tijana Milenković
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering.,Center for Network and Data Science.,Eck institute for Global Health
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Nonoptimal Codon Usage Is Critical for Protein Structure and Function of the Master General Amino Acid Control Regulator CPC-1. mBio 2020; 11:mBio.02605-20. [PMID: 33051373 PMCID: PMC7554675 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02605-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Under amino acid starvation conditions, eukaryotic organisms activate a general amino acid control response. In Neurospora crassa, Cross Pathway Control Protein 1 (CPC-1), the ortholog of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae bZIP transcription factor GCN4, functions as the master regulator of the general amino acid control response. Codon usage biases are a universal feature of eukaryotic genomes and are critical for regulation of gene expression. Although codon usage has also been implicated in the regulation of protein structure and function, genetic evidence supporting this conclusion is very limited. Here, we show that Neurospora cpc-1 has a nonoptimal NNU-rich codon usage profile that contrasts with the strong NNC codon preference in the genome. Although substitution of the cpc-1 NNU codons with synonymous NNC codons elevated CPC-1 expression in Neurospora, it altered the CPC-1 degradation rate and abolished its amino acid starvation-induced protein stabilization. The codon-manipulated CPC-1 protein also exhibited different sensitivity to limited protease digestion. Furthermore, CPC-1 functions in rescuing the cell growth of the cpc-1 deletion mutant and activation of the expression of its target genes were impaired by the synonymous codon changes. Together, these results reveal the critical role of codon usage in regulation of CPC-1 expression and function and establish a genetic example of the importance of codon usage in protein folding.IMPORTANCE The general amino acid control response is critical for adaptation of organisms to amino acid starvation conditions. The preference to use certain synonymous codons is a universal feature of all genomes. Synonymous codon changes were previously thought to be silent mutations. In this study, we showed that the Neurospora cpc-1 gene has an unusual codon usage profile compared to other genes in the genome. We found that codon optimization of the cpc-1 gene without changing its amino acid sequence resulted in elevated CPC-1 expression, an altered protein degradation rate, and impaired protein functions due to changes in protein structure. Together, these results reveal the critical role of synonymous codon usage in regulation of CPC-1 expression and function and establish a genetic example of the importance of codon usage in protein structure.
Collapse
|
34
|
Nieuwkoop T, Finger-Bou M, van der Oost J, Claassens NJ. The Ongoing Quest to Crack the Genetic Code for Protein Production. Mol Cell 2020; 80:193-209. [PMID: 33010203 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2020.09.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Revised: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the genetic design principles that determine protein production remains a major challenge. Although the key principles of gene expression were discovered 50 years ago, additional factors are still being uncovered. Both protein-coding and non-coding sequences harbor elements that collectively influence the efficiency of protein production by modulating transcription, mRNA decay, and translation. The influences of many contributing elements are intertwined, which complicates a full understanding of the individual factors. In natural genes, a functional balance between these factors has been obtained in the course of evolution, whereas for genetic-engineering projects, our incomplete understanding still limits optimal design of synthetic genes. However, notable advances have recently been made, supported by high-throughput analysis of synthetic gene libraries as well as by state-of-the-art biomolecular techniques. We discuss here how these advances further strengthen understanding of the gene expression process and how they can be harnessed to optimize protein production.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thijs Nieuwkoop
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Max Finger-Bou
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - John van der Oost
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Nico J Claassens
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, the Netherlands.
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Carmi G, Tagore S, Gorohovski A, Sivan A, Raviv-Shay D, Frenkel-Morgenstern M. Design principles of gene evolution for niche adaptation through changes in protein-protein interaction networks. Sci Rep 2020; 10:15628. [PMID: 32973219 PMCID: PMC7519090 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-71976-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2019] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
In contrast to fossorial and above-ground organisms, subterranean species have adapted to the extreme stresses of living underground. We analyzed the predicted protein–protein interactions (PPIs) of all gene products, including those of stress-response genes, among nine subterranean, ten fossorial, and 13 aboveground species. We considered 10,314 unique orthologous protein families and constructed 5,879,879 PPIs in all organisms using ChiPPI. We found strong association between PPI network modulation and adaptation to specific habitats, noting that mutations in genes and changes in protein sequences were not linked directly with niche adaptation in the organisms sampled. Thus, orthologous hypoxia, heat-shock, and circadian clock proteins were found to cluster according to habitat, based on PPIs rather than on sequence similarities. Curiously, "ordered" domains were preserved in aboveground species, while "disordered" domains were conserved in subterranean organisms, and confirmed for proteins in DistProt database. Furthermore, proteins with disordered regions were found to adopt significantly less optimal codon usage in subterranean species than in fossorial and above-ground species. These findings reveal design principles of protein networks by means of alterations in protein domains, thus providing insight into deep mechanisms of evolutionary adaptation, generally, and particularly of species to underground living and other confined habitats.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gon Carmi
- The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, 8 Henrietta Szold St, 13195, Safed, Israel
| | - Somnath Tagore
- The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, 8 Henrietta Szold St, 13195, Safed, Israel.,Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, Herbert Irving Cancer Research Center, New York, USA
| | - Alessandro Gorohovski
- The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, 8 Henrietta Szold St, 13195, Safed, Israel
| | - Aviad Sivan
- The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, 8 Henrietta Szold St, 13195, Safed, Israel
| | - Dorith Raviv-Shay
- The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, 8 Henrietta Szold St, 13195, Safed, Israel
| | | |
Collapse
|
36
|
Liu Y. A code within the genetic code: codon usage regulates co-translational protein folding. Cell Commun Signal 2020; 18:145. [PMID: 32907610 PMCID: PMC7488015 DOI: 10.1186/s12964-020-00642-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2020] [Accepted: 08/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The genetic code is degenerate, and most amino acids are encoded by two to six synonymous codons. Codon usage bias, the preference for certain synonymous codons, is a universal feature of all genomes examined. Synonymous codon mutations were previously thought to be silent; however, a growing body evidence now shows that codon usage regulates protein structure and gene expression through effects on co-translational protein folding, translation efficiency and accuracy, mRNA stability, and transcription. Codon usage regulates the speed of translation elongation, resulting in non-uniform ribosome decoding rates on mRNAs during translation that is adapted to co-translational protein folding process. Biochemical and genetic evidence demonstrate that codon usage plays an important role in regulating protein folding and function in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Certain protein structural types are more sensitive than others to the effects of codon usage on protein folding, and predicted intrinsically disordered domains are more prone to misfolding caused by codon usage changes than other domain types. Bioinformatic analyses revealed that gene codon usage correlates with different protein structures in diverse organisms, indicating the existence of a codon usage code for co-translational protein folding. This review focuses on recent literature on the role and mechanism of codon usage in regulating translation kinetics and co-translational protein folding. Video abstract
![]()
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yi Liu
- Department of Physiology, ND13.214A, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX, 75390-9040, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Lyu X, Yang Q, Li L, Dang Y, Zhou Z, Chen S, Liu Y. Adaptation of codon usage to tRNA I34 modification controls translation kinetics and proteome landscape. PLoS Genet 2020; 16:e1008836. [PMID: 32479508 PMCID: PMC7289440 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2020] [Revised: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Codon usage bias is a universal feature of all genomes and plays an important role in regulating protein expression levels. Modification of adenosine to inosine at the tRNA anticodon wobble position (I34) by adenosine deaminases (ADATs) is observed in all eukaryotes and has been proposed to explain the correlation between codon usage and tRNA pool. However, how the tRNA pool is affected by I34 modification to influence codon usage-dependent gene expression is unclear. Using Neurospora crassa as a model system, by combining molecular, biochemical and bioinformatics analyses, we show that silencing of adat2 expression severely impaired the I34 modification levels for the ADAT-related tRNAs, resulting in major ADAT-related tRNA profile changes and reprogramming of translation elongation kinetics on ADAT-related codons. adat2 silencing also caused genome-wide codon usage-biased ribosome pausing on mRNAs and proteome landscape changes, leading to selective translational repression or induction of different mRNAs. The induced expression of CPC-1, the Neurospora ortholog of yeast GCN4p, mediates the transcriptional response after adat2 silencing and amino acid starvation. Together, our results demonstrate that the tRNA I34 modification by ADAT plays a major role in driving codon usage-biased translation to shape proteome landscape. Modification of transfer RNA (tRNA) can have profound impacts on gene expression by shaping cellular tRNA pool. How codon usage bias and tRNA profiles synergistically regulate gene expression is unclear. By combining molecular, biochemical and bioinformatics analyses, we showed that the correlation between genome codon usage and tRNA I34 (inosine 34) modification modulates translation elongation kinetics and proteome landscape. Inhibition of tRNA I34 modification causes codon usage-dependent ribosome pausing on mRNAs during translation and changes cellular protein contents in a codon usage biased manner. Together, our results demonstrate that the tRNA I34 modification plays a major role in driving codon usage-dependent translation to determine proteome landscape in a eukaryotic organism.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xueliang Lyu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
- Department of Physiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center,Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, Texas, United States of America
| | - Qian Yang
- Department of Physiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center,Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, Texas, United States of America
| | - Lin Li
- National Institute of Biological Sciences, Changping District, Beijing, China
| | - Yunkun Dang
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources and Center for Life Science, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Zhipeng Zhou
- Department of Physiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center,Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, Texas, United States of America
- College of Life Sciences and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - She Chen
- Department of Physiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center,Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, Texas, United States of America
| | - Yi Liu
- Department of Physiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center,Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, Texas, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Abstract
Proteins are the main source of drug targets and some of them possess therapeutic potential themselves. Among them, membrane proteins constitute approximately 50% of the major drug targets. In the drug discovery pipeline, rapid methods for producing different classes of proteins in a simple manner with high quality are important for structural and functional analysis. Cell-free systems are emerging as an attractive alternative for the production of proteins due to their flexible nature without any cell membrane constraints. In a bioproduction context, open systems based on cell lysates derived from different sources, and with batch-to-batch consistency, have acted as a catalyst for cell-free synthesis of target proteins. Most importantly, proteins can be processed for downstream applications like purification and functional analysis without the necessity of transfection, selection, and expansion of clones. In the last 5 years, there has been an increased availability of new cell-free lysates derived from multiple organisms, and their use for the synthesis of a diverse range of proteins. Despite this progress, major challenges still exist in terms of scalability, cost effectiveness, protein folding, and functionality. In this review, we present an overview of different cell-free systems derived from diverse sources and their application in the production of a wide spectrum of proteins. Further, this article discusses some recent progress in cell-free systems derived from Chinese hamster ovary and Sf21 lysates containing endogenous translocationally active microsomes for the synthesis of membrane proteins. We particularly highlight the usage of internal ribosomal entry site sequences for more efficient protein production, and also the significance of site-specific incorporation of non-canonical amino acids for labeling applications and creation of antibody drug conjugates using cell-free systems. We also discuss strategies to overcome the major challenges involved in commercializing cell-free platforms from a laboratory level for future drug development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Srujan Kumar Dondapati
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses (IZI-BB), Am Mühlenberg 13, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Marlitt Stech
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses (IZI-BB), Am Mühlenberg 13, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Anne Zemella
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses (IZI-BB), Am Mühlenberg 13, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Stefan Kubick
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses (IZI-BB), Am Mühlenberg 13, 14476, Potsdam, Germany.
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Joint Faculty of the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, The Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane and the University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Whittle CA, Kulkarni A, Extavour CG. Evidence of multifaceted functions of codon usage in translation within the model beetle Tribolium castaneum. DNA Res 2020; 26:473-484. [PMID: 31922535 PMCID: PMC6993815 DOI: 10.1093/dnares/dsz025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Synonymous codon use is non-random. Codons most used in highly transcribed genes, often called optimal codons, typically have high gene counts of matching tRNA genes (tRNA abundance) and promote accurate and/or efficient translation. Non-optimal codons, those least used in highly expressed genes, may also affect translation. In multicellular organisms, codon optimality may vary among tissues. At present, however, tissue specificity of codon use remains poorly understood. Here, we studied codon usage of genes highly transcribed in germ line (testis and ovary) and somatic tissues (gonadectomized males and females) of the beetle Tribolium castaneum. The results demonstrate that: (i) the majority of optimal codons were organism-wide, the same in all tissues, and had numerous matching tRNA gene copies (Opt-codon↑tRNAs), consistent with translational selection; (ii) some optimal codons varied among tissues, suggesting tissue-specific tRNA populations; (iii) wobble tRNA were required for translation of certain optimal codons (Opt-codonwobble), possibly allowing precise translation and/or protein folding; and (iv) remarkably, some non-optimal codons had abundant tRNA genes (Nonopt-codon↑tRNAs), and genes using those codons were tightly linked to ribosomal and stress-response functions. Thus, Nonopt-codon↑tRNAs codons may regulate translation of specific genes. Together, the evidence suggests that codon use and tRNA genes regulate multiple translational processes in T. castaneum.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Cassandra G Extavour
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology.,Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Oldfield CJ, Peng Z, Uversky VN, Kurgan L. Codon selection reduces GC content bias in nucleic acids encoding for intrinsically disordered proteins. Cell Mol Life Sci 2020; 77:149-160. [PMID: 31175370 PMCID: PMC11104855 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-019-03166-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2019] [Revised: 05/14/2019] [Accepted: 05/28/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Protein-coding nucleic acids exhibit composition and codon biases between sequences coding for intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) and those coding for structured regions. IDRs are regions of proteins that are folding self-insufficient and which function without the prerequisite of folded structure. Several authors have investigated composition bias or codon selection in regions encoding for IDRs, primarily in Eukaryota, and concluded that elevated GC content is the result of the biased amino acid composition of IDRs. We substantively extend previous work by examining GC content in regions encoding IDRs, from 44 species in Eukaryota, Archaea, and Bacteria, spanning a wide range of GC content. We confirm that regions coding for IDRs show a significantly elevated GC content, even across all domains of life. Although this is largely attributable to the amino acid composition bias of IDRs, we show that this bias is independent of the overall GC content and, most importantly, we are the first to observe that GC content bias in IDRs is significantly different than expected from IDR amino acid composition alone. We empirically find compensatory codon selection that reduces the observed GC content bias in IDRs. This selection is dependent on the overall GC content of the organism. The codon selection bias manifests as use of infrequent, AT-rich codons in encoding IDRs. Further, we find these relationships to be independent of the intrinsic disorder prediction method used, and independent of estimated translation efficiency. These observations are consistent with the previous work, and we speculate on whether the observed biases are causal or symptomatic of other driving forces.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J Oldfield
- Department of Computer Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA.
| | - Zhenling Peng
- Center for Applied Mathematics, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Vladimir N Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine and USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
- Institute for Biological Instrumentation, Russian Academy of Sciences, 142290, Pushchino, Moscow Region, Russia
| | - Lukasz Kurgan
- Department of Computer Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Yang Q, Yu CH, Zhao F, Dang Y, Wu C, Xie P, Sachs MS, Liu Y. eRF1 mediates codon usage effects on mRNA translation efficiency through premature termination at rare codons. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 47:9243-9258. [PMID: 31410471 PMCID: PMC6755126 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2019] [Revised: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 08/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Codon usage bias is a universal feature of eukaryotic and prokaryotic genomes and plays an important role in regulating gene expression levels. A major role of codon usage is thought to regulate protein expression levels by affecting mRNA translation efficiency, but the underlying mechanism is unclear. By analyzing ribosome profiling results, here we showed that codon usage regulates translation elongation rate and that rare codons are decoded more slowly than common codons in all codon families in Neurospora. Rare codons resulted in ribosome stalling in manners both dependent and independent of protein sequence context and caused premature translation termination. This mechanism was shown to be conserved in Drosophila cells. In both Neurospora and Drosophila cells, codon usage plays an important role in regulating mRNA translation efficiency. We found that the rare codon-dependent premature termination is mediated by the translation termination factor eRF1, which recognizes ribosomes stalled on rare sense codons. Silencing of eRF1 expression resulted in codon usage-dependent changes in protein expression. Together, these results establish a mechanism for how codon usage regulates mRNA translation efficiency.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qian Yang
- Department of Physiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Chien-Hung Yu
- Department of Physiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
| | - Fangzhou Zhao
- Department of Physiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Yunkun Dang
- Department of Physiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.,State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources and Center for Life Science, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan 650500, China
| | - Cheng Wu
- Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3258, USA
| | - Pancheng Xie
- Department of Physiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.,Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases and Cambridge-Suda Genomic Resource Center, Soochow University, 199 Ren'ai Road, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China
| | - Matthew S Sachs
- Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3258, USA
| | - Yi Liu
- Department of Physiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Valdez F, Salvador J, Palermo PM, Mohl JE, Hanley KA, Watts D, Llano M. Schlafen 11 Restricts Flavivirus Replication. J Virol 2019; 93:e00104-19. [PMID: 31118262 PMCID: PMC6639263 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00104-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2019] [Accepted: 05/14/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Schlafen 11 (Slfn11) is an interferon-stimulated gene that controls the synthesis of proteins by regulating tRNA abundance. Likely through this mechanism, Slfn11 has previously been shown to impair human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection and the expression of codon-biased open reading frames. Because replication of positive-sense single-stranded RNA [(+)ssRNA] viruses requires the immediate translation of the incoming viral genome, whereas negative-sense single-stranded RNA [(-)ssRNA] viruses carry at infection an RNA replicase that makes multiple translation-competent copies of the incoming viral genome, we reasoned that (+)ssRNA viruses will be more sensitive to the effect of Slfn11 on protein synthesis than (-)ssRNA viruses. To evaluate this hypothesis, we tested the effects of Slfn11 on the replication of a panel of ssRNA viruses in the human glioblastoma cell line A172, which naturally expresses Slfn11. Depletion of Slfn11 significantly increased the replication of (+)ssRNA viruses from the Flavivirus genus, including West Nile virus (WNV), dengue virus (DENV), and Zika virus (ZIKV), but had no significant effect on the replication of the (-)ssRNA viruses vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) (Rhabdoviridae family) and Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) (Phenuiviridae family). Quantification of the ratio of genome-containing viral particles to PFU indicated that Slfn11 impairs WNV infectivity. Intriguingly, Slfn11 prevented WNV-induced downregulation of a subset of tRNAs implicated in the translation of 11.8% of the viral polyprotein. Low-abundance tRNAs might promote optimal protein folding and enhance viral infectivity, as previously reported. In summary, this study demonstrates that Slfn11 restricts flavivirus replication by impairing viral infectivity.IMPORTANCE We provide evidence that the cellular protein Schlafen 11 (Slfn11) impairs replication of flaviviruses, including West Nile virus (WNV), dengue virus (DENV), and Zika virus (ZIKV). However, replication of single-stranded negative RNA viruses was not affected. Specifically, Slfn11 decreases the infectivity of WNV potentially by preventing virus-induced modifications of the host tRNA repertoire that could lead to enhanced viral protein folding. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Slfn11 is not the limiting factor of this novel broad antiviral pathway.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Federico Valdez
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, USA
| | - Julienne Salvador
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, USA
| | - Pedro M Palermo
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, USA
| | - Jonathon E Mohl
- Department of Bioinformatics, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, USA
| | - Kathryn A Hanley
- Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
| | - Douglas Watts
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, USA
| | - Manuel Llano
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, USA
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Kleppe AS, Bornberg-Bauer E. Robustness by intrinsically disordered C-termini and translational readthrough. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 46:10184-10194. [PMID: 30247639 PMCID: PMC6365619 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2018] [Accepted: 09/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
During protein synthesis genetic instructions are passed from DNA via mRNA to the ribosome to assemble a protein chain. Occasionally, stop codons in the mRNA are bypassed and translation continues into the untranslated region (3′-UTR). This process, called translational readthrough (TR), yields a protein chain that becomes longer than would be predicted from the DNA sequence alone. Protein sequences vary in propensity for translational errors, which may yield evolutionary constraints by limiting evolutionary paths. Here we investigated TR in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by analysing ribosome profiling data. We clustered proteins as either prone or non-prone to TR, and conducted comparative analyses. We find that a relatively high frequency (5%) of genes undergo TR, including ribosomal subunit proteins. Our main finding is that proteins undergoing TR are highly expressed and have a higher proportion of intrinsically disordered C-termini. We suggest that highly expressed proteins may compensate for the deleterious effects of TR by having intrinsically disordered C-termini, which may provide conformational flexibility but without distorting native function. Moreover, we discuss whether minimizing deleterious effects of TR is also enabling exploration of the phenotypic landscape of protein isoforms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- April Snofrid Kleppe
- Institute of Biodiversity and Evolution, University of Münster, Hüfferstr. 1, 48151 Münster, Germany
| | - Erich Bornberg-Bauer
- Institute of Biodiversity and Evolution, University of Münster, Hüfferstr. 1, 48151 Münster, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Hockenberry AJ, Jewett MC, Amaral LAN, Wilke CO. Within-Gene Shine-Dalgarno Sequences Are Not Selected for Function. Mol Biol Evol 2019; 35:2487-2498. [PMID: 30085185 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msy150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence motif facilitates translation initiation and is frequently found upstream of bacterial start codons. However, thousands of instances of this motif occur throughout the middle of protein coding genes in a typical bacterial genome. Here, we use comparative evolutionary analysis to test whether SD sequences located within genes are functionally constrained. We measure the conservation of SD sequences across Enterobacteriales, and find that they are significantly less conserved than expected. Further, the strongest SD sequences are the least conserved whereas we find evidence of conservation for the weakest possible SD sequences given amino acid constraints. Our findings indicate that most SD sequences within genes are likely to be deleterious and removed via selection. To illustrate the origin of these deleterious costs, we show that ATG start codons are significantly depleted downstream of SD sequences within genes, highlighting the constraint that these sequences impose on the surrounding nucleotides to minimize the potential for erroneous translation initiation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adam J Hockenberry
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
| | - Michael C Jewett
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.,Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.,Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.,Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.,Simpson Querrey Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
| | - Luís A N Amaral
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.,Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
| | - Claus O Wilke
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Tuite MF. Yeast models of neurodegenerative diseases. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2019; 168:351-379. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2019.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
|
46
|
Mandad S, Rahman RU, Centeno TP, Vidal RO, Wildhagen H, Rammner B, Keihani S, Opazo F, Urban I, Ischebeck T, Kirli K, Benito E, Fischer A, Yousefi RY, Dennerlein S, Rehling P, Feussner I, Urlaub H, Bonn S, Rizzoli SO, Fornasiero EF. The codon sequences predict protein lifetimes and other parameters of the protein life cycle in the mouse brain. Sci Rep 2018; 8:16913. [PMID: 30443017 PMCID: PMC6237891 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-35277-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2018] [Accepted: 11/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The homeostasis of the proteome depends on the tight regulation of the mRNA and protein abundances, of the translation rates, and of the protein lifetimes. Results from several studies on prokaryotes or eukaryotic cell cultures have suggested that protein homeostasis is connected to, and perhaps regulated by, the protein and the codon sequences. However, this has been little investigated for mammals in vivo. Moreover, the link between the coding sequences and one critical parameter, the protein lifetime, has remained largely unexplored, both in vivo and in vitro. We tested this in the mouse brain, and found that the percentages of amino acids and codons in the sequences could predict all of the homeostasis parameters with a precision approaching experimental measurements. A key predictive element was the wobble nucleotide. G-/C-ending codons correlated with higher protein lifetimes, protein abundances, mRNA abundances and translation rates than A-/U-ending codons. Modifying the proportions of G-/C-ending codons could tune these parameters in cell cultures, in a proof-of-principle experiment. We suggest that the coding sequences are strongly linked to protein homeostasis in vivo, albeit it still remains to be determined whether this relation is causal in nature.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sunit Mandad
- Department of Neuro- and Sensory Physiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Cluster of Excellence Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
- Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry Group, Max Planck Institute of Biophysical Chemistry, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Raza-Ur Rahman
- Laboratory of Computational Systems Biology, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 37075, Göttingen, Germany
- Institute of Medical Systems Biology, Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), 20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Tonatiuh Pena Centeno
- Laboratory of Computational Systems Biology, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ramon O Vidal
- Laboratory of Computational Systems Biology, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Hanna Wildhagen
- Department of Neuro- and Sensory Physiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Cluster of Excellence Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Burkhard Rammner
- Department of Neuro- and Sensory Physiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Cluster of Excellence Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sarva Keihani
- Department of Neuro- and Sensory Physiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Cluster of Excellence Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Felipe Opazo
- Department of Neuro- and Sensory Physiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Cluster of Excellence Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Inga Urban
- Genes and Behavior Department, Max Planck Institute of Biophysical Chemistry, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Till Ischebeck
- Department of Plant Biochemistry, Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute, Georg-August-University, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Koray Kirli
- Department of Cellular Logistics, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Eva Benito
- Laboratory of Epigenetics in Neurodegenerative Diseases, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - André Fischer
- Laboratory of Epigenetics in Neurodegenerative Diseases, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 37075, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Roya Y Yousefi
- Department of Cellular Biochemistry, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, 37073, Germany
| | - Sven Dennerlein
- Department of Cellular Biochemistry, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, 37073, Germany
| | - Peter Rehling
- Department of Cellular Biochemistry, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, 37073, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ivo Feussner
- Department of Plant Biochemistry, Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute, Georg-August-University, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Henning Urlaub
- Department of Clinical Chemistry, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
- Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry Group, Max Planck Institute of Biophysical Chemistry, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Stefan Bonn
- Laboratory of Computational Systems Biology, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 37075, Göttingen, Germany.
- Institute of Medical Systems Biology, Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Silvio O Rizzoli
- Department of Neuro- and Sensory Physiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Cluster of Excellence Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain, 37073, Göttingen, Germany.
- Center for Biostructural Imaging of Neurodegeneration (BIN), 37075, Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Eugenio F Fornasiero
- Department of Neuro- and Sensory Physiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Cluster of Excellence Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain, 37073, Göttingen, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Fu J, Dang Y, Counter C, Liu Y. Codon usage regulates human KRAS expression at both transcriptional and translational levels. J Biol Chem 2018; 293:17929-17940. [PMID: 30275015 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra118.004908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2018] [Revised: 09/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
KRAS and HRAS are highly homologous oncogenic Ras GTPase family members that are mutated in a wide spectrum of human cancers. Despite having high amino acid identity, KRAS and HRAS have very different codon usage biases: the HRAS gene contains many common codons, and KRAS is enriched for rare codons. Rare codons in KRAS suppress its protein expression, which has been shown to affect both normal and cancer biology in mammals. Here, using HRAS or KRAS expression in different human cell lines and in vitro transcription and translation assays, we show that KRAS rare codons inhibit both translation efficiency and transcription and that the contribution of these two processes varies among different cell lines. We observed that codon usage regulates mRNA translation efficiency such that WT KRAS mRNA is poorly translated. On the other hand, common codons increased transcriptional rates by promoting activating histone modifications and recruitment of transcriptional coactivators. Finally, we found that codon usage also influences KRAS protein conformation, likely because of its effect on co-translational protein folding. Together, our results reveal that codon usage has multidimensional effects on protein expression, ranging from effects on transcription to protein folding in human cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Fu
- From the Department of Physiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75235
| | - Yunkun Dang
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources and Center for Life Science, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Christopher Counter
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708
| | - Yi Liu
- From the Department of Physiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75235.
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Castellana S, Mazza T, Capocefalo D, Genov N, Biagini T, Fusilli C, Scholkmann F, Relógio A, Hogenesch JB, Mazzoccoli G. Systematic Analysis of Mouse Genome Reveals Distinct Evolutionary and Functional Properties Among Circadian and Ultradian Genes. Front Physiol 2018; 9:1178. [PMID: 30190679 PMCID: PMC6115496 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2018.01178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2018] [Accepted: 08/06/2018] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
In living organisms, biological clocks regulate 24 h (circadian) molecular, physiological, and behavioral rhythms to maintain homeostasis and synchrony with predictable environmental changes, in particular with those induced by Earth’s rotation on its axis. Harmonics of these circadian rhythms having periods of 8 and 12 h (ultradian) have been documented in several species. In mouse liver, harmonics of the 24-h period of gene transcription hallmarked genes oscillating with a frequency two or three times faster than circadian periodicity. Many of these harmonic transcripts enriched pathways regulating responses to environmental stress and coinciding preferentially with subjective dawn and dusk. At this time, the evolutionary history of genes with rhythmic expression is still poorly known and the role of length-of-day changes due to Earth’s rotation speed decrease over the last four billion years is totally ignored. We hypothesized that ultradian and stress anticipatory genes would be more evolutionarily conserved than circadian genes and background non-oscillating genes. To investigate this issue, we performed broad computational analyses of genes/proteins oscillating at different frequency ranges across several species and showed that ultradian genes/proteins, especially those oscillating with a 12-h periodicity, are more likely to be of ancient origin and essential in mice. In summary, our results show that genes with ultradian transcriptional patterns are more likely to be phylogenetically conserved and associated with the primeval and inevitable dawn/dusk transitions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Castellana
- Bioinformatics Unit, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy
| | - Tommaso Mazza
- Bioinformatics Unit, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy
| | - Daniele Capocefalo
- Bioinformatics Unit, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy
| | - Nikolai Genov
- Institute for Theoretical Biology (ITB), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Molekulares Krebsforschungszentrum (MKFZ), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Tommaso Biagini
- Bioinformatics Unit, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy
| | - Caterina Fusilli
- Bioinformatics Unit, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy
| | - Felix Scholkmann
- Research Office for Complex Physical and Biological Systems (ROCoS), Zürich, Switzerland.,Department of Neonatology, University Hospital Zürich, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Angela Relógio
- Institute for Theoretical Biology (ITB), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Molekulares Krebsforschungszentrum (MKFZ), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - John B Hogenesch
- Divisions of Human Genetics and Immunobiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States
| | - Gianluigi Mazzoccoli
- Division of Internal Medicine and Chronobiology Unit, IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Timing during translation matters: synonymous mutations in human pathologies influence protein folding and function. Biochem Soc Trans 2018; 46:937-944. [PMID: 30065107 DOI: 10.1042/bst20170422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2018] [Revised: 05/18/2018] [Accepted: 06/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Ribosomes translate mRNAs with non-uniform speed. Translation velocity patterns are a conserved feature of mRNA and have evolved to fine-tune protein folding, expression and function. Synonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms (sSNPs) that alter programmed translational speed affect expression and function of the encoded protein. Synergistic advances in next-generation sequencing have led to the identification of sSNPs associated with disease penetrance. Here, we draw on studies with disease-related proteins to enhance our understanding of mechanistic contributions of sSNPs to functional alterations of the encoded protein. We emphasize the importance of identification of sSNPs along with disease-causing mutations to understand genotype-phenotype relationships.
Collapse
|
50
|
Pellizza L, Smal C, Rodrigo G, Arán M. Codon usage clusters correlation: towards protein solubility prediction in heterologous expression systems in E. coli. Sci Rep 2018; 8:10618. [PMID: 30006617 PMCID: PMC6045634 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-29035-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2018] [Accepted: 06/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Production of soluble recombinant proteins is crucial to the development of industry and basic research. However, the aggregation due to the incorrect folding of the nascent polypeptides is still a mayor bottleneck. Understanding the factors governing protein solubility is important to grasp the underlying mechanisms and improve the design of recombinant proteins. Here we show a quantitative study of the expression and solubility of a set of proteins from Bizionia argentinensis. Through the analysis of different features known to modulate protein production, we defined two parameters based on the %MinMax algorithm to compare codon usage clusters between the host and the target genes. We demonstrate that the absolute difference between all %MinMax frequencies of the host and the target gene is significantly negatively correlated with protein expression levels. But most importantly, a strong positive correlation between solubility and the degree of conservation of codons usage clusters is observed for two independent datasets. Moreover, we evince that this correlation is higher in codon usage clusters involved in less compact protein secondary structure regions. Our results provide important tools for protein design and support the notion that codon usage may dictate translation rate and modulate co-translational folding.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Pellizza
- Laboratory of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Fundación Instituto Leloir, IIBBA-CONICET, Av. Patricias Argentinas 435, C1405BWE, CABA, Argentina
| | - Clara Smal
- Laboratory of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Fundación Instituto Leloir, IIBBA-CONICET, Av. Patricias Argentinas 435, C1405BWE, CABA, Argentina
| | - Guido Rodrigo
- Laboratory of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Fundación Instituto Leloir, IIBBA-CONICET, Av. Patricias Argentinas 435, C1405BWE, CABA, Argentina
| | - Martín Arán
- Laboratory of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Fundación Instituto Leloir, IIBBA-CONICET, Av. Patricias Argentinas 435, C1405BWE, CABA, Argentina.
| |
Collapse
|