厌氧性粘菌基因组中密码对的使用

分析了厌氧性粘菌(Anaeromyxobacter_dehalogenans_2N-C)基因组中密码对的使用,发现其全基因组中有5.2%的密码对模式是缺失的.分析结果表明其密码对的偏好至少可能是四个方面压力的结果:(1)基因组局部的及整体的GC含量,(2)密码对中二核苷酸的组分,(3)氨基酸的亲疏水性,(4)基因组中二肽的保守水平。     

皱边喉毛花及其近缘物种的叶绿体基因组结构与进化分析

为重建喉毛花属下系统发育关系,明晰属下皱边喉毛花及其近缘种之间的物种关系。本研究利用Illumina高通量测序平台对12 个叶绿体基因组进行双末端测序,获得大量高质量的Clean reads用于后续生物信息学分析。结果表明：（1）喉毛花属下物种的基因组差异较小,均在150 kb左右,基因总数为131 个,其中编码基因81 个。IR区核苷酸多态性比SC低,编码区比非编码区更保守。（2）进化分析结果显示,几乎所有的编码基因受到纯化选择的作用。（3）密码子偏好性分析表明有35 个密码子的RSCU值均大于1,说明使用这些密码子的频率较高,各项密码子偏好性衡量指标说明喉毛花属物种的密码子偏好性较弱。（4）系统发育分析表明CDS、密码子位置与基因间隔区数据集构建的系统发育树具有高度一致的拓扑结构,大部分分支的支持率高。这些结果表明皱边喉毛花及其近缘种的叶绿体基因组无明显差异,在系统发育树上无法按物种聚类,也为后续展开喉毛花属下群体遗传学研究提供科学依据。     

几种模式生物基因组中最适密码对和稀有密码对使用的规律性

以6种模式生物基因组为样本,从密码对的碱基组成及密码子的使用两方面,分析了最适密码对与稀有密码对的使用。结果显示:6种生物的最适密码对rP双碱基TA出现的频数都是最低的,而出现频率最大的双碱墓对于古菌、细菌、真核是不同的;稀有密码对中双碱基TA出现的频数却是最高的,而出现频率最低的双碱基刘·于古菌、细菌、真核是不同的。这说明双碱基的分布与密码对的偏好性有很强的相关性,同时也与基因组进化存在关联。另外,我们也分析了本文的6种生物编码序列叶,最适密码对与稀有密码对的出现频数与密码了的相对使用频率的关系,发现密码对的出现频数与其密码子的使用存在相关性。     

大肠杆菌基因中密码对使用的规律

为了探讨基因组序列的非随机性对密码对使用的影响程度,揭示依赖上下文的密码对偏爱性(CDCB)可能存在的规律,本文主要对大肠杆菌基因组中密码子及其紧邻密码子(密码对)偏爱作了全面的统计分析。结果发现85%的密码子在其紧邻密码子位点有显著依赖上下文的密码对偏爱性,通过密码对与全序列六联体(三联体对)的相对丰度比较发现,大约35%的密码对偏好性不能用基因组的序列组分来解释。当密码子第二和第三位点核苷酸相同,且紧邻密码子相同时,它们的相对丰度有显著相关性。结果表明我们的数据支持依赖上下文的密码子偏好的主要原因是蛋白质合成精确性选择的假设,即本文结果揭示了依赖上下文的密码对偏好性可能存在的规律,从而为今后进一步研究大肠杆菌基因组中密码对使用偏好性提供参考。     

DNA双链密码对使用的不对称性

目的：分析基因组组分极其偏向的厌氧性粘菌和立克次氏体基因中密码对的使用,研究DNA双链密码对使用的不对称性。方法：生物统计学。结果：发现脱卤厌氧粘菌和立克次氏体基因组中分别有17%和21%的密码对在DNA双链上的使用偏好性正好相对,这表明它们的前导链与滞后链上密码对的使用偏好存在差异。因此,影响密码对搭配的重要原因之一是基因所在链的特性。这些特性可能包括：基因方向性偏好、密码子使用偏好、密码子的前后文关系等。结论：造成上述两物种DNA双链间密码对使用不对称的原因可能是DNA链特异的突变偏好性和在复制、转录、翻译水平上的自然选择约束。     

MATLAB 7.X 生物信息工具箱的应用-- 专用分析工具（ 六）*

序列分析可以获取蕴藏在简单序列中的生物信息,是生物信息分析的基础。通过生物大分子序列差异分析构建的系统树则可为我们提供可视化的物种间的进化关系。MATLAB7.X生物信息工具箱包含了几个图形用户界面设计的专用分析工具,这些专用分析工具交互性好,易于使用。借助于这些分析工具,用户不仅可以对基因序列进行分析查看并能进行相对应的氨基酸序列分析,还可以方便快捷地构建系统发育树。即使用户不会编程也可以进行序列分析和系统发育分析的研究,大大地提高了分析的效率。本文详细介绍了序列分析工具Seqtool和系统发育分析工具Phytreetool在序列分析及系统发育树构建方面的应用,所有操作方便快捷,分析结果可视化程度高。     

应用非序列联配方法对哺乳动物系统发育关系的探讨

非序列联配的序列分析方法,将序列中特定寡聚核苷酸的kmer统计频率作为特征,在序列间按特征进行比较和分析。这种方法综合考虑了所有变异类型对序列整体特征的影响,因而在组学数据分析上有独特的优势。但是,这类方法在复杂多细胞生物基因组系统发育中的适用性仍然有待检验。在本文中,我们使用基于非序列联配方法的CVTree软件,以45种哺乳动物的蛋白质组数据建立了系统发育关系NJ树,并据此探讨了哺乳动物系统发育的若干问题。在广受关注的真兽下纲四个总目的关系问题上,CVTree支持形态学的普遍结论即上兽类(Epitheria)假说。这与基于序列联配方法支持的外非洲胎盘类(Exafro-placentalia )假说不同。在哺乳动物内部目的层次上,CVTree树的结论与分子和形态所普遍接受的系统发育关系基本一致。但是在目的内部,CVTree树会有较多的差异。研究结果初步显示非序列联配方法在使用复杂多细胞生物的组学数据进行系统发育关系分析中的可行性。对非序列联配方法自身的改进及其与传统基于取代的序列联配方法之间的比较仍有待深入研究。     

原核生物eno基因在系统进化中应用及水平转移分析

多基因系统发育研究方法是系统发育分析中的一个重要手段,基因树冲突已成为分子系统发育研究中日益突出的问题。烯醇化酶基因(eno)及其编码的蛋白广泛存在于五界系统中,烯醇化酶为糖酵解途径中重要酶类。文章选取原核生物已注释的eno基因序列进行了系统发育分析。对其中的138个模式菌株的eno基因序列进行系统发育分析和同源性搜索,发现19个模式菌株的eno基因是通过水平转移而来;并通过核苷酸组成、密码子偏好性和基因排列等基因特征分析,进一步验证了水平转移基因的外源性。结果表明:原核生物eno序列具有较高保守性,其大小适中,是研究原核生物系统发育的良好材料。文章在对基因水平转移的供体和受体菌株生活习性、进化历史以及烯醇化酶的结构和功能的研究过程中提供重要参考价值。     

密码对的偏爱与基因组进化的相关性分析

以5种真核、15种细菌、10种古菌生物基因组为样本,对密码对使用偏好性指标Г与密码对随基因组进化的指标α之间作线性分析,发现部分密码对的r值与α之间有显著的线性关系;密码子第三位点与紧邻密码子第一位点的双碱基（cP3cAl）使用与基因组进化有关。结果进一步肯定了密码对的使用与基因组进化存在相关性,同时从密码对使用的角度揭示了真核生物、真细菌、古菌的基本差别。     

突脐孢属Brnl基因核苷酸序列比较及系统发育研究

对所有供试突脐孢菌株的Brnl基因(1,3,8-三羟基萘还原酶基因)扩增均获得PCR产物。序列比较表明：在种内各菌株间没有核苷酸序列长度变化,存在核苷酸序列简单代换;在种间核苷酸序列长度有变化,核苷酸的缺失或插入发生在内含子区;所有菌株编码区核苷酸序列长度相同;在种内水平氨基酸序列没有差别,显示出高度的保守性。利用最大简约法(Maximum Parsimony)和邻近结合法(Neighbor-joining)构建系统发育树,两个系统发育树的拓扑结构相似,不同种在不同的分支上。Brnl基因适合突脐孢属种级水平的分子系统学研究。     

Codon and Codon-Pair Usage Tables (CoCoPUTs): Facilitating Genetic Variation Analyses and Recombinant Gene Design

Usage of sequential codon-pairs is non-random and unique to each species. Codon-pair bias is related to but clearly distinct from individual codon usage bias. Codon-pair bias is thought to affect translational fidelity and efficiency and is presumed to be under the selective pressure. It was suggested that changes in codon-pair utilization may affect human disease more significantly than changes in single codons. Although recombinant gene technologies often take codon-pair usage bias into account, codon-pair usage data/tables are not readily available, thus potentially impeding research efforts. The present computational resource (https://hive.biochemistry.gwu.edu/review/codon2) systematically addresses this issue. Building on our recent HIVE-Codon Usage Tables, we constructed a new database to include genomic codon-pair and dinucleotide statistics of all organisms with sequenced genome, available in the GenBank. We believe that the growing understanding of the importance of codon-pair usage will make this resource an invaluable tool to many researchers in academia and pharmaceutical industry.     

Codon usage bias in prokaryotic pyrimidine-ending codons is associated with the degeneracy of the encoded amino acids

Synonymous codons are unevenly distributed among genes, a phenomenon termed codon usage bias. Understanding the patterns of codon bias and the forces shaping them is a major step towards elucidating the adaptive advantage codon choice can confer at the level of individual genes and organisms. Here, we perform a large-scale analysis to assess codon usage bias pattern of pyrimidine-ending codons in highly expressed genes in prokaryotes. We find a bias pattern linked to the degeneracy of the encoded amino acid. Specifically, we show that codon-pairs that encode two- and three-fold degenerate amino acids are biased towards the C-ending codon while codons encoding four-fold degenerate amino acids are biased towards the U-ending codon. This codon usage pattern is widespread in prokaryotes, and its strength is correlated with translational selection both within and between organisms. We show that this bias is associated with an improved correspondence with the tRNA pool, avoidance of mis-incorporation errors during translation and moderate stability of codon-anticodon interaction, all consistent with more efficient translation.     

基于k-mer组分信息的系统发生树构建方法

随着越来越多基因组的测序完成,基于全基因组的非比对的系统发生分析已成为研究热点。不同的生物物种或个体基因组之间的核酸组分不完全相同。遗传语言-DNA序列的信息很大程度上反映在其k—mer频数中。基于基因组序列k-mer频数的系统发生树则从新的角度为我们提供物种之间的亲缘关系。本文定义基于k-mer,频数的信息参数,并用它表征基因组序列,计算不同基因组之间信息参数的距离,用邻接法对84个病毒构建了系统发生树,发现构建的系统发生树很大程度上与已有的系统发生树相吻合。     

Codon usage patterns in cytochrome oxidase I across multiple insect orders

Synonymous codon usage bias is determined by a combination of mutational biases, selection at the level of translation, and genetic drift. In a study of mtDNA in insects, we analyzed patterns of codon usage across a phylogeny of 88 insect species spanning 12 orders. We employed a likelihood-based method for estimating levels of codon bias and determining major codon preference that removes the possible effects of genome nucleotide composition bias. Three questions are addressed: (1) How variable are codon bias levels across the phylogeny? (2) How variable are major codon preferences? and (3) Are there phylogenetic constraints on codon bias or preference? There is high variation in the level of codon bias values among the 88 taxa, but few readily apparent phylogenetic patterns. Bias level shifts within the lepidopteran genus Papilio are most likely a result of population size effects. Shifts in major codon preference occur across the tree in all of the amino acids in which there was bias of some level. The vast majority of changes involves double-preference models, however, and shifts between single preferred codons within orders occur only 11 times. These shifts among codons in double-preference models are phylogenetically conservative.     

Investigations of oligonucleotide usage variance within and between prokaryotes

Oligonucleotide usage in archaeal and bacterial genomes can be linked to a number of properties, including codon usage (trinucleotides), DNA base-stacking energy (dinucleotides), and DNA structural conformation (di- to tetranucleotides). We wanted to assess the statistical information potential of different DNA ‘word-sizes’ and explore how oligonucleotide frequencies differ in coding and non-coding regions. In addition, we used oligonucleotide frequencies to investigate DNA composition and how DNA sequence patterns change within and between prokaryotic organisms. Among the results found was that prokaryotic chromosomes can be described by hexanucleotide frequencies, suggesting that prokaryotic DNA is predominantly short range correlated, i.e., information in prokaryotic genomes is encoded in short oligonucleotides. Oligonucleotide usage varied more within AT-rich and host-associated genomes than in GC-rich and free-living genomes, and this variation was mainly located in non-coding regions. Bias (selectional pressure) in tetranucleotide usage correlated with GC content, and coding regions were more biased than non-coding regions. Non-coding regions were also found to be approximately 5.5% more AT-rich than coding regions, on average, in the 402 chromosomes examined. Pronounced DNA compositional differences were found both within and between AT-rich and GC-rich genomes. GC-rich genomes were more similar and biased in terms of tetranucleotide usage in non-coding regions than AT-rich genomes. The differences found between AT-rich and GC-rich genomes may possibly be attributed to lifestyle, since tetranucleotide usage within host-associated bacteria was, on average, more dissimilar and less biased than free-living archaea and bacteria.     

Codon bias in actin multigene families and effects on the reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships

Codon usage patterns and phylogenetic relationships in the actin multigene family have been analyzed for three dipteran species—Drosophila melanogaster, Bactrocera dorsalis, and Ceratitis capitata. In certain phylogenetic tree reconstructions, using synonymous distances, some gene relationships are altered due to a homogenization phenomenon. We present evidence to show that this homogenization phenomenon is due to codon usage bias. A survey of the pattern of synonymous codon preferences for I I actin genes from these three species reveals that five out of the six Drosophila actin genes show high degrees of codon bias as indicated by scaled ² values. In contrast to this, four out of the five actin genes from the other species have low codon bias values. A Monte Carlo contingency test indicates that for those Drosophila actin genes which exhibit codon bias, the patterns of codon usage are different compared to actin genes from the other species. In addition, the genes exhibiting codon bias also appear to have reduced rates of synonymous substitution. The homogenization phenomenon seen in terms of synonymous substitutions is not observed for nonsynonymous changes. Because of this homogenization phenomenon, trees constructed based on synonymous substitutions will be affected. These effects can be overt in the case of multigene families, but similar distortions may underlie reconstructions based on single-copy genes which exhibit codon usage bias.Correspondence to: M. He