Different factors have been proposed to be related to codon usage bias, including gene expression level (reflecting selection for optimizing the translation process by tRNA abundance), guanine-cytosine content (GC content, reflecting horizontal gene transfer or mutational bias), guanine-cytosine skew (GC skew, reflecting strand-specific mutational bias), amino acid conservation, protein hydropathy, transcriptional selection, RNA stability, optimal growth temperature, hypersaline adaptation, and dietary nitrogen.
Although the mechanism of codon bias selection remains controversial, possible explanations for this bias fall into two general categories. One explanation revolves around the selectionist theory, in which codon bias contributes to the efficiency and/or accuracy of protein expression and therefore undergoes positive selection. The selectionist model also explains why more frequent codons are recognized by more abundant tRNA molecules, as well as the correlation between preferred codons, tRNA levels, and gene copy numbers. Although it has been shown that the rate of amino acid incorporation at more frequent codons occurs at a much higher rate than that of rare codons, the speed of translation has not been shown to be directly affected and therefore the bias towards more frequent codons may not be directly advantageous. However, the increase in translation elongation speed may still be indirectly advantageous by increasing the cellular concentration of free ribosomes and potentially the rate of initiation for messenger RNAs (mRNAs).
Generally speaking for highly expressed genes, translation elongation rates are faster along transcripts with higher codon adaptation to tRNA pools, and slower along transcripts with rare codons. This correlation between codon translation rates and cognate tRNA concentrations provides additional modulation of translation elongation rates, which can provide several advantages to the organism. Specifically, codon usage can allow for global regulation of these rates, and rare codons may contribute to the accuracy of translation at the expense of speed.
Athey, John; Alexaki, Aikaterini; Osipova, Ekaterina; Rostovtsev, Alexandre; Santana-Quintero, Luis V.; Katneni, Upendra; Simonyan, Vahan; Kimchi-Sarfaty, Chava (2017-09-02). "A new and updated resource for codon usage tables". BMC Bioinformatics. 18 (391): 391. doi:10.1186/s12859-017-1793-7. PMC 5581930. PMID 28865429. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5581930
Alexaki, Aikaterini; Kames, Jacob; Holcomb, David D.; Athey, John; Santana-Quintero, Luis V.; Lam, Phuc Vihn Nguyen; Hamasaki-Katagiri, Nobuko; Osipova, Ekaterina; Simonyan, Vahan; Bar, Haim; Komar, Anton A.; Kimchi-Sarfaty, Chava (June 2019). "Codon and Codon-Pair Usage Tables (CoCoPUTs): Facilitating Genetic Variation Analyses and Recombinant Gene Design". Journal of Molecular Biology. 431 (13): 2434–2441. doi:10.1016/j.jmb.2019.04.021. PMID 31029701. S2CID 139104807. https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jmb.2019.04.021
Kames, Jacob; Alexaki, Aikaterini; Holcomb, David D.; Santana-Quintero, Luis V.; Athey, John C.; Hamasaki-Katagiri, Nobuko; Katneni, Upendra; Golikov, Anton; Ibla, Juan C.; Bar, Haim; Kimchi-Sarfaty, Chava (January 2020). "TissueCoCoPUTs: Novel Human Tissue-Specific Codon and Codon-Pair Usage Tables Based on Differential Tissue Gene Expression". Journal of Molecular Biology. 432 (11): 3369–3378. doi:10.1016/j.jmb.2020.01.011. PMID 31982380. https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jmb.2020.01.011
P. Shah and M. A. Gilchrist (2011). "Explaining complex codon usage patterns with selection for translational efficiency, mutation bias, and genetic drift". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 108 (25): 10231–6. Bibcode:2011PNAS..10810231S. doi:10.1073/pnas.1016719108. PMC 3121864. PMID 21646514. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3121864
L. Duret and N. Galtier (2009). "Biased gene conversion and the evolution of mammalian genomic landscapes". Annu Rev Genomics Hum Genet. 10: 285–311. doi:10.1146/annurev-genom-082908-150001. PMID 19630562. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
N. Galtier, C. Roux, M. Rousselle, J. Romiguier, E. Figuet, S. Glemin, N. Bierne and L. Duret (2018). "Codon Usage Bias in Animals: Disentangling the Effects of Natural Selection, Effective Population Size, and GC-Biased Gene Conversion". Mol Biol Evol. 35 (5): 1092–1103. doi:10.1093/molbev/msy015. hdl:20.500.12210/34500. PMID 29390090.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fmolbev%2Fmsy015
Dong, Hengjiang; Nilsson, Lars; Kurland, Charles G. (1996). "Co-variation of tRNA abundance and codon usage in Escherichia coli at different growth rates". Journal of Molecular Biology. 260 (5): 649–663. doi:10.1006/jmbi.1996.0428. ISSN 0022-2836. PMID 8709146. /wiki/Charles_Kurland
Sharp, Paul M.; Stenico, Michele; Peden, John F.; Lloyd, Andrew T. (1993). "Codon usage: mutational bias, translational selection, or both?". Biochem. Soc. Trans. 21 (4): 835–841. doi:10.1042/bst0210835. PMID 8132077. S2CID 8582630. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Kanaya, Shigehiko; Yamada, Yuko; Kudo, Yoshihiro; Ikemura, Toshimichi (1999). "Studies of codon usage and tRNA genes of 18 unicellular organisms and quantification of Bacillus subtilis tRNAs: gene expression level and species-specific diversity of codon usage based on multivariate analysis". Gene. 238 (1): 143–155. doi:10.1016/s0378-1119(99)00225-5. ISSN 0378-1119. PMID 10570992. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Atherton, John C.; Sharp, Paul M.; Lafay, Bénédicte (2000-04-01). "Absence of translationally selected synonymous codon usage bias in Helicobacter pylori". Microbiology. 146 (4): 851–860. doi:10.1099/00221287-146-4-851. ISSN 1350-0872. PMID 10784043. https://doi.org/10.1099%2F00221287-146-4-851
Bornelöv, Susanne; Selmi, Tommaso; Flad, Sophia; Dietmann, Sabine; Frye, Michaela (2019-06-07). "Codon usage optimization in pluripotent embryonic stem cells". Genome Biology. 20 (1): 119. doi:10.1186/s13059-019-1726-z. ISSN 1474-760X. PMC 6555954. PMID 31174582. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6555954
Duret, Laurent (2000). "tRNA gene number and codon usage in the C. elegans genome are co-adapted for optimal translation of highly expressed genes". Trends in Genetics. 16 (7): 287–289. doi:10.1016/s0168-9525(00)02041-2. ISSN 0168-9525. PMID 10858656. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Shin, Young C.; Bischof, Georg F.; Lauer, William A.; Desrosiers, Ronald C. (2015-09-10). "Importance of codon usage for the temporal regulation of viral gene expression". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112 (45): 14030–14035. Bibcode:2015PNAS..11214030S. doi:10.1073/pnas.1515387112. PMC 4653223. PMID 26504241. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4653223
Ermolaeva MD (October 2001). "Synonymous codon usage in bacteria". Curr Issues Mol Biol. 3 (4): 91–7. PMID 11719972. /wiki/PMID_(identifier)
Lynn DJ, Singer GA, Hickey DA (October 2002). "Synonymous codon usage is subject to selection in thermophilic bacteria". Nucleic Acids Res. 30 (19): 4272–7. doi:10.1093/nar/gkf546. PMC 140546. PMID 12364606. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC140546
Paul S, Bag SK, Das S, Harvill ET, Dutta C (2008). "Molecular signature of hypersaline adaptation: insights from genome and proteome composition of halophilic prokaryotes". Genome Biol. 9 (4): R70. doi:10.1186/gb-2008-9-4-r70. PMC 2643941. PMID 18397532. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2643941
Kober, K. M.; Pogson, G. H. (2013). "Genome-Wide Patterns of Codon Bias Are Shaped by Natural Selection in the Purple Sea Urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus". G3. 3 (7): 1069–1083. doi:10.1534/g3.113.005769. PMC 3704236. PMID 23637123. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3704236
McInerney, James O. (1998-09-01). "Replicational and transcriptional selection on codon usage in Borrelia burgdorferi". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 95 (18): 10698–10703. Bibcode:1998PNAS...9510698M. doi:10.1073/pnas.95.18.10698. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 27958. PMID 9724767. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC27958
Seward, Emily; Kelly, Steve (2016). "Dietary nitrogen alters codon bias and genome composition in parasitic microorganisms". Genome Biology. 17 (226): 3–15. doi:10.1186/s13059-016-1087-9. PMC 5109750. PMID 27842572. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5109750
Hershberg, R; Petrov, D. A. (2008). "Selection on codon bias". Annual Review of Genetics. 42: 287–99. doi:10.1146/annurev.genet.42.110807.091442. PMID 18983258. S2CID 7085012. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Hershberg, R; Petrov, D. A. (2008). "Selection on codon bias". Annual Review of Genetics. 42: 287–99. doi:10.1146/annurev.genet.42.110807.091442. PMID 18983258. S2CID 7085012. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Hershberg, R; Petrov, D. A. (2008). "Selection on codon bias". Annual Review of Genetics. 42: 287–99. doi:10.1146/annurev.genet.42.110807.091442. PMID 18983258. S2CID 7085012. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Novoa, E. M.; Ribas De Pouplana, L (2012). "Speeding with control: Codon usage, tRNAs, and ribosomes". Trends in Genetics. 28 (11): 574–81. doi:10.1016/j.tig.2012.07.006. PMID 22921354. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Shu, P.; Dai, H.; Gao, W.; Goldman, E. (2006). "Inhibition of translation by consecutive rare leucine codons in E. coli: absence of effect of varying mRNA stability". Gene Expr. 13 (2): 97–106. doi:10.3727/000000006783991881. PMC 6032470. PMID 17017124. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6032470
Correddu, D.; Montaño López, J. d. J.; Angermayr, S. A.; Middleditch, M. J.; Payne, L. S.; Leung, I. K. H. (2019). "Effect of Consecutive Rare Codons on the Recombinant Production of Human Proteins in Escherichia coli". IUBMB Life. 72 (2): 266–274. doi:10.1002/iub.2162. hdl:11343/286411. PMID 31509345. S2CID 202555575. /wiki/IUBMB_Life
Mignon, C.; Mariano, N.; Stadthagen, G.; Lugari, A.; Lagoutte, P.; Donnat, S.; Chenavas, S.; Perot, C.; Sodoyer, R.; Werle, B. (2018). "Codon harmonization - going beyond the speed limit for protein expression". FEBS Letters. 592 (9): 1554–1564. doi:10.1002/1873-3468.13046. PMID 29624661. https://doi.org/10.1002%2F1873-3468.13046
Plotkin, J. B.; Kudla, G (2011). "Synonymous but not the same: The causes and consequences of codon bias". Nature Reviews Genetics. 12 (1): 32–42. doi:10.1038/nrg2899. PMC 3074964. PMID 21102527. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3074964
Plotkin, J. B.; Kudla, G (2011). "Synonymous but not the same: The causes and consequences of codon bias". Nature Reviews Genetics. 12 (1): 32–42. doi:10.1038/nrg2899. PMC 3074964. PMID 21102527. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3074964
Spencer, P. S.; Barral, J. M. (2012). "Genetic Code Redundancy and Its Influence on the Encoded Polypeptides". Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal. 1: 1–8. doi:10.5936/csbj.201204006. PMC 3962081. PMID 24688635. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3962081
Spencer, P. S.; Barral, J. M. (2012). "Genetic Code Redundancy and Its Influence on the Encoded Polypeptides". Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal. 1: 1–8. doi:10.5936/csbj.201204006. PMC 3962081. PMID 24688635. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3962081
Comeron JM, Aguadé M (September 1998). "An evaluation of measures of synonymous codon usage bias". J. Mol. Evol. 47 (3): 268–74. Bibcode:1998JMolE..47..268C. doi:10.1007/PL00006384. PMID 9732453. S2CID 21862217. /wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)
Ikemura T (September 1981). "Correlation between the abundance of Escherichia coli transfer RNAs and the occurrence of the respective codons in its protein genes: a proposal for a synonymous codon choice that is optimal for the E. coli translational system". J. Mol. Biol. 151 (3): 389–409. doi:10.1016/0022-2836(81)90003-6. PMID 6175758. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Fox JM, Erill I (June 2010). "Relative codon adaptation: a generic codon bias index for prediction of gene expression". DNA Res. 17 (3): 185–96. doi:10.1093/dnares/dsq012. PMC 2885275. PMID 20453079. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2885275
Sharp, Paul M.; Li, Wen-Hsiung (1987). "The codon adaptation index-a measure of directional synonymous codon usage bias, and its potential applications". Nucleic Acids Research. 15 (3): 1281–1295. doi:10.1093/nar/15.3.1281. PMC 340524. PMID 3547335. /wiki/Paul_M._Sharp
Peden J (2005-04-15). "Codon usage indices". Correspondence Analysis of Codon Usage. SourceForge. Retrieved 2010-10-20. http://codonw.sourceforge.net/Indices.html
Suzuki H, Brown CJ, Forney LJ, Top EM (December 2008). "Comparison of correspondence analysis methods for synonymous codon usage in bacteria". DNA Res. 15 (6): 357–65. doi:10.1093/dnares/dsn028. PMC 2608848. PMID 18940873. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2608848