scholarly journals The distribution of fitness effects among synonymous mutations in a gene under selection

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Lebeuf-Taylor ◽  
N. McCloskey ◽  
S.F. Bailey ◽  
A. Hinz ◽  
R. Kassen
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Compelling Evidence ◽  
Competitive Fitness ◽  
Synonymous Substitutions ◽  
Synonymous Mutations ◽  
Fitness Effects ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Direct Measures

AbstractThe fitness effects of synonymous mutations, nucleotide changes that do not alter the encoded amino acid, have often been assumed to be neutral, but a growing body of evidence suggests otherwise. We used site-directed mutagenesis coupled with direct measures of competitive fitness to estimate the distribution of fitness effects among synonymous mutations for a gene under selection. Synonymous mutations had highly variable fitness effects, both deleterious and beneficial, resembling those of nonsynonymous mutations in the same gene. This variation in fitness was underlain by changes in transcription linked to the creation of internal promoter sites. A positive correlation between fitness and the presence of synonymous substitutions across a phylogeny of related Pseudomonads suggests these mutations may be common in nature. Taken together, our results provide the most compelling evidence to date that synonymous mutations with non-neutral fitness effects may in fact be commonplace.

scholarly journals The distribution of fitness effects among synonymous mutations in a gene under directional selection

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleonore Lebeuf-Taylor ◽  
Nick McCloskey ◽  
Susan F Bailey ◽  
Aaron Hinz ◽  
Rees Kassen
Keyword(s):  
Directional Selection ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Compelling Evidence ◽  
Competitive Fitness ◽  
Synonymous Substitutions ◽  
Synonymous Mutations ◽  
Fitness Effects ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Direct Measures

The fitness effects of synonymous mutations, nucleotide changes that do not alter the encoded amino acid, have often been assumed to be neutral, but a growing body of evidence suggests otherwise. We used site-directed mutagenesis coupled with direct measures of competitive fitness to estimate the distribution of fitness effects among synonymous mutations for a gene under directional selection and capable of adapting via synonymous nucleotide changes. Synonymous mutations had highly variable fitness effects, both deleterious and beneficial, resembling those of nonsynonymous mutations in the same gene. This variation in fitness was underlain by changes in transcription linked to the creation of internal promoter sites. A positive correlation between fitness and the presence of synonymous substitutions across a phylogeny of related Pseudomonads suggests these mutations may be common in nature. Taken together, our results provide the most compelling evidence to date that synonymous mutations with non-neutral fitness effects may in fact be commonplace.

Chitosanase from Streptomyces sp. strain N174: a comparative review of its structure and function

1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 687-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamo Fukamizo ◽  
Ryszard Brzezinski
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Amino Acid Sequence ◽  
Substrate Binding ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
Streptomyces Sp ◽  
Binding Cleft ◽  
And Function

Novel information on the structure and function of chitosanase, which hydrolyzes the beta -1,4-glycosidic linkage of chitosan, has accumulated in recent years. The cloning of the chitosanase gene from Streptomyces sp. strain N174 and the establishment of an efficient expression system using Streptomyces lividans TK24 have contributed to these advances. Amino acid sequence comparisons of the chitosanases that have been sequenced to date revealed a significant homology in the N-terminal module. From energy minimization based on the X-ray crystal structure of Streptomyces sp. strain N174 chitosanase, the substrate binding cleft of this enzyme was estimated to be composed of six monosaccharide binding subsites. The hydrolytic reaction takes place at the center of the binding cleft with an inverting mechanism. Site-directed mutagenesis of the carboxylic amino acid residues that are conserved revealed that Glu-22 and Asp-40 are the catalytic residues. The tryptophan residues in the chitosanase do not participate directly in the substrate binding but stabilize the protein structure by interacting with hydrophobic and carboxylic side chains of the other amino acid residues. Structural and functional similarities were found between chitosanase, barley chitinase, bacteriophage T4 lysozyme, and goose egg white lysozyme, even though these proteins share no sequence similarities. This information can be helpful for the design of new chitinolytic enzymes that can be applied to carbohydrate engineering, biological control of phytopathogens, and other fields including chitinous polysaccharide degradation. Key words: chitosanase, amino acid sequence, overexpression system, reaction mechanism, site-directed mutagenesis.

scholarly journals Large-Scale Synonymous Substitutions in Cucumber Mosaic Virus RNA 3 Facilitate Amino Acid Mutations in the Coat Protein

2018 ◽  
Vol 92 (22) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomofumi Mochizuki ◽  
Rie Ohara ◽  
Marilyn J. Roossinck
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Secondary Structure ◽  
Viral Genome ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Viral Rna ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Competitive Fitness ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Synonymous Substitutions ◽  
Cp Gene

ABSTRACTThe effect of large-scale synonymous substitutions in a small icosahedral, single-stranded RNA viral genome on virulence, viral titer, and protein evolution were analyzed. The coat protein (CP) gene of the Fny stain of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) was modified. We created four CP mutants in which all the codons of nine amino acids in the 5′ or 3′ half of the CP gene were replaced by either the most frequently or the least frequently used synonymous codons in monocot plants. When the dicot host (Nicotiana benthamiana) was inoculated with these four CP mutants, viral RNA titers in uninoculated symptomatic leaves decreased, while all mutants eventually showed mosaic symptoms similar to those for the wild type. The codon adaptation index of these four CP mutants against dicot genes was similar to those of the wild-type CP gene, indicating that the reduction of viral RNA titer was due to deleterious changes of the secondary structure of RNAs 3 and 4. When two 5′ mutants were serially passaged inN. benthamiana, viral RNA titers were rapidly restored but competitive fitness remained decreased. Although no nucleic acid changes were observed in the passaged wild-type CMV, one to three amino acid changes were observed in the synonymously mutated CP of each passaged virus, which were involved in recovery of viral RNA titer of 5′ mutants. Thus, we demonstrated that deleterious effects of the large-scale synonymous substitutions in the RNA viral genome facilitated the rapid amino acid mutation(s) in the CP to restore the viral RNA titer.IMPORTANCERecently, it has been known that synonymous substitutions in RNA virus genes affect viral pathogenicity and competitive fitness by alteration of global or local RNA secondary structure of the viral genome. We confirmed that large-scale synonymous substitutions in the CP gene of CMV resulted in decreased viral RNA titer. Importantly, when viral evolution was stimulated by serial-passage inoculation, viral RNA titer was rapidly restored, concurrent with a few amino acid changes in the CP. This novel finding indicates that the deleterious effects of large-scale nucleic acid mutations on viral RNA secondary structure are readily tolerated by structural changes in the CP, demonstrating a novel part of the adaptive evolution of an RNA viral genome. In addition, our experimental system for serial inoculation of large-scale synonymous mutants could uncover a role for new amino acid residues in the viral protein that have not been observed in the wild-type virus strains.

Identification of Amino Acid Residues Underlying the Antiport Mechanism of the Mitochondrial Carnitine/Acylcarnitine Carrier by Site-Directed Mutagenesis and Chemical Labeling

Biochemistry ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 53 (44) ◽  
pp. 6924-6933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Giangregorio ◽  
Lara Console ◽  
Annamaria Tonazzi ◽  
Ferdinando Palmieri ◽  
Cesare Indiveri
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
Chemical Labeling

scholarly journals Site-directed mutagenesis at aspartate and glutamate residues of xylanase from Bacillus pumilus

1992 ◽  
Vol 288 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
E P Ko ◽  
H Akatsuka ◽  
H Moriyama ◽  
A Shinmyo ◽  
Y Hata ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Reaction Mechanism ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Bacillus Pumilus ◽  
Specific Activity ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Dimensional Structure ◽  
Amino Acid Sequence Similarity ◽  
Directed Mutagenesis

To elucidate the reaction mechanism of xylanase, the identification of amino acids essential for its catalysis is of importance. Studies have indicated the possibility that the reaction mechanism of xylanase is similar to that of hen's egg lysozyme, which involves acidic amino acid residues. On the basis of this assumption, together with the three-dimensional structure of Bacillus pumilus xylanase and its amino acid sequence similarity to other xylanases of different origins, three acidic amino acids, namely Asp-21, Glu-93 and Glu-182, were selected for site-directed mutagenesis. The Asp residue was altered to either Ser or Glu, and the Glu residues to Ser or Asp. The purified mutant xylanases D21E, D21S, E93D, E93S, E182D and E182S showed single protein bands of about 26 kDa on SDS/PAGE. C.d. spectra of these mutant enzymes show no effect on the secondary structure of xylanase, except that of D21E, which shows a little variation. Furthermore, mutations of Glu-93 and Glu-182 resulted in a drastic decrease in the specific activity of xylanase as compared with mutation of Asp-21. On the basis of these results we propose that Glu-93 and Glu-182 are the best candidates for the essential catalytic residues of xylanase.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document