Codon usage bias and tRNA over-expression in Buchnera aphidicola after aromatic amino acid nutritional stress on its host Acyrthosiphon pisum

Nucleic Acids Res. 2006;34(16):4583-92. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkl597. Epub 2006 Sep 8.

Abstract

Codon usage bias and relative abundances of tRNA isoacceptors were analysed in the obligate intracellular symbiotic bacterium, Buchnera aphidicola from the aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum, using a dedicated 35mer oligonucleotide microarray. Buchnera is archetypal of organisms living with minimal metabolic requirements and presents a reduced genome with high-evolutionary rate. Codonusage in Buchnera has been overcome by the high mutational bias towards AT bases. However, several lines of evidence for codon usage selection are given here. A significant correlation was found between tRNA relative abundances and codon composition of Buchnera genes. A significant codon usage bias was found for the choice of rare codons in Buchnera: C-ending codons are preferred in highly expressed genes, whereas G-ending codons are avoided. This bias is not explained by GC skew in the bacteria and might correspond to a selection for perfect matching between codon-anticodon pairs for some essential amino acids in Buchnera proteins. Nutritional stress applied to the aphid host induced a significant overexpression of most of the tRNA isoacceptors in bacteria. Although, molecular regulation of the tRNA operons in Buchnera was not investigated, a correlation between relative expression levels and organization in transcription unit was found in the genome of Buchnera.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anticodon
  • Aphids / microbiology*
  • Buchnera / genetics*
  • Buchnera / metabolism
  • Codon*
  • Cytosine / analysis
  • Diet
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial*
  • Guanine / analysis
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Phenylalanine / metabolism
  • RNA, Transfer / genetics*
  • RNA, Transfer / metabolism
  • Tyrosine / metabolism

Substances

  • Anticodon
  • Codon
  • Tyrosine
  • Phenylalanine
  • Guanine
  • Cytosine
  • RNA, Transfer