scholarly journals Selection for efficient translation initiation biases codon usage at second amino acid position in secretory proteins

2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (17) ◽  
pp. 5748-5754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaramah M. Zalucki ◽  
Peter M. Power ◽  
Michael P. Jennings
2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan B. van Beilen ◽  
Theo H. M. Smits ◽  
Franz F. Roos ◽  
Tobias Brunner ◽  
Stefanie B. Balada ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Selection experiments and protein engineering were used to identify an amino acid position in integral membrane alkane hydroxylases (AHs) that determines whether long-chain-length alkanes can be hydroxylated by these enzymes. First, substrate range mutants of the Pseudomonas putida GPo1 and Alcanivorax borkumensis AP1 medium-chain-length AHs were obtained by selection experiments with a specially constructed host. In all mutants able to oxidize alkanes longer than C13, W55 (in the case of P. putida AlkB) or W58 (in the case of A. borkumensis AlkB1) had changed to a much less bulky amino acid, usually serine or cysteine. The corresponding position in AHs from other bacteria that oxidize alkanes longer than C13 is occupied by a less bulky hydrophobic residue (A, V, L, or I). Site-directed mutagenesis of this position in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv AH, which oxidizes C10 to C16 alkanes, to introduce more bulky amino acids changed the substrate range in the opposite direction; L69F and L69W mutants oxidized only C10 and C11 alkanes. Subsequent selection for growth on longer alkanes restored the leucine codon. A structure model of AHs based on these results is discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 206-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jihui Tang ◽  
Jie Ning ◽  
Xiaoyan Liu ◽  
Baoming Wu ◽  
Rongfeng Hu

<P>Introduction: Machine Learning is a useful tool for the prediction of cell-penetration compounds as drug candidates. </P><P> Materials and Methods: In this study, we developed a novel method for predicting Cell-Penetrating Peptides (CPPs) membrane penetrating capability. For this, we used orthogonal encoding to encode amino acid and each amino acid position as one variable. Then a software of IBM spss modeler and a dataset including 533 CPPs, were used for model screening. </P><P> Results: The results indicated that the machine learning model of Support Vector Machine (SVM) was suitable for predicting membrane penetrating capability. For improvement, the three CPPs with the most longer lengths were used to predict CPPs. The penetration capability can be predicted with an accuracy of close to 95%. </P><P> Conclusion: All the results indicated that by using amino acid position as a variable can be a perspective method for predicting CPPs membrane penetrating capability.</P>


Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 734
Author(s):  
Xuhua Xia

The design of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines involves many different types of optimizations. Proper optimization of vaccine mRNA can reduce dosage required for each injection leading to more efficient immunization programs. The mRNA components of the vaccine need to have a 5’-UTR to load ribosomes efficiently onto the mRNA for translation initiation, optimized codon usage for efficient translation elongation, and optimal stop codon for efficient translation termination. Both 5’-UTR and the downstream 3’-UTR should be optimized for mRNA stability. The replacement of uridine by N1-methylpseudourinine () complicates some of these optimization processes because is more versatile in wobbling than U. Different optimizations can conflict with each other, and compromises would need to be made. I highlight the similarities and differences between Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines and discuss the advantage and disadvantage of each to facilitate future vaccine improvement. In particular, I point out a few optimizations in the design of the two mRNA vaccines that have not been performed properly.


AMB Express ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Neeraja Punde ◽  
Jennifer Kooken ◽  
Dagmar Leary ◽  
Patricia M. Legler ◽  
Evelina Angov

Abstract Codon usage frequency influences protein structure and function. The frequency with which codons are used potentially impacts primary, secondary and tertiary protein structure. Poor expression, loss of function, insolubility, or truncation can result from species-specific differences in codon usage. “Codon harmonization” more closely aligns native codon usage frequencies with those of the expression host particularly within putative inter-domain segments where slower rates of translation may play a role in protein folding. Heterologous expression of Plasmodium falciparum genes in Escherichia coli has been a challenge due to their AT-rich codon bias and the highly repetitive DNA sequences. Here, codon harmonization was applied to the malarial antigen, CelTOS (Cell-traversal protein for ookinetes and sporozoites). CelTOS is a highly conserved P. falciparum protein involved in cellular traversal through mosquito and vertebrate host cells. It reversibly refolds after thermal denaturation making it a desirable malarial vaccine candidate. Protein expressed in E. coli from a codon harmonized sequence of P. falciparum CelTOS (CH-PfCelTOS) was compared with protein expressed from the native codon sequence (N-PfCelTOS) to assess the impact of codon usage on protein expression levels, solubility, yield, stability, structural integrity, recognition with CelTOS-specific mAbs and immunogenicity in mice. While the translated proteins were expected to be identical, the translated products produced from the codon-harmonized sequence differed in helical content and showed a smaller distribution of polypeptides in mass spectra indicating lower heterogeneity of the codon harmonized version and fewer amino acid misincorporations. Substitutions of hydrophobic-to-hydrophobic amino acid were observed more commonly than any other. CH-PfCelTOS induced significantly higher antibody levels compared with N-PfCelTOS; however, no significant differences in either IFN-γ or IL-4 cellular responses were detected between the two antigens.


Genetics ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuhua Xia

Abstract The optimization of the translational machinery in cells requires the mutual adaptation of codon usage and tRNA concentration, and the adaptation of tRNA concentration to amino acid usage. Two predictions were derived based on a simple deterministic model of translation which assumes that elongation of the peptide chain is rate-limiting. The highest translational efficiency is achieved when the codon recognized by the most abundant tRNA reaches the maximum frequency. For each codon family, the tRNA concentration is optimally adapted to codon usage when the concentration of different tRNA species matches the square-root of the frequency of their corresponding synonymous codons. When tRNA concentration and codon usage are well adapted to each other, the optimal content of all tRNA species carrying the same amino acid should match the square-root of the frequency of the amino acid. These predictions are examined against empirical data from Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 2372-2382
Author(s):  
K M Arndt ◽  
S L Ricupero ◽  
D M Eisenmann ◽  
F Winston

A mutation in the gene that encodes Saccharomyces cerevisiae TFIID (SPT15), which was isolated in a selection for mutations that alter transcription in vivo, changes a single amino acid in a highly conserved region of the second direct repeat in TFIID. Among eight independent spt15 mutations, seven cause this same amino acid change, Leu-205 to Phe. The mutant TFIID protein (L205F) binds with greater affinity than that of wild-type TFIID to at least two nonconsensus TATA sites in vitro, showing that the mutant protein has altered DNA binding specificity. Site-directed mutations that change Leu-205 to five different amino acids cause five different phenotypes, demonstrating the importance of this amino acid in vivo. Virtually identical phenotypes were observed when the same amino acid changes were made at the analogous position, Leu-114, in the first repeat of TFIID. Analysis of these mutations and additional mutations in the most conserved regions of the repeats, in conjunction with our DNA binding results, suggests that these regions of the repeats play equivalent roles in TFIID function, possibly in TATA box recognition.


1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 3470-3480 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Moran ◽  
B Zerler ◽  
T M Harrison ◽  
M B Mathews

The transformation and early adenovirus gene transactivation functions of the E1A region were analyzed with deletion and point mutations. Deletion of amino acids from position 86 through 120 had little effect on the lytic or transforming functions of the E1A products, while deletion of amino acids from position 121 through 150 significantly impaired both functions. The sensitivity of the transformation function to alterations in the region from amino acid position 121 to 150 was further indicated by the impairment of transforming activity resulting from single amino acid substitutions at positions 124 and 135. Interestingly, conversion of a cysteine residue at position 124 to glycine severely impaired the transformation function without affecting the early adenovirus gene activating functions. Single amino acid substitutions in a different region of the E1A gene had the converse effect. All the mutants produced polypeptides of sufficient stability to be detected by Western immunoblot analysis. The single amino acid substitutions at positions 124 and 135, although impairing the transformation functions, did not detectably alter the formation of the higher-apparent-molecular-weight forms of the E1A products.


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