Analysis of codon usage in genes for nitrogen fixation from phylogenetically diverse diazotrophs

Mathur, Manjula ; Tuli , Rakesh (1991) Analysis of codon usage in genes for nitrogen fixation from phylogenetically diverse diazotrophs Journal of Molecular Evolution, 32 (5). pp. 364-373. ISSN 0022-2844

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Official URL: http://www.springerlink.com/content/wx85ku135th0p4...

Related URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02101276

Abstract

A cluster analysis based on codon usage in genes for biological nitrogen fixation (nif genes) grouped diazotrophs into three distinct classes: anaerobes, cyanobacteria, and aerobes. In thenif genes of Klebsiella pneumoniae there was no evidence for selection pressure in favor of highly translatable codons. However, in the nitrogen regulatory operonglnAntrBntrC of enteric bacteria the stoichiometrically high level of glutamine synthetase may be facilitated by the presence of efficiently translatable codons inglnA. Thenif genes of the cyanobacterium Anabaena showed codon selection in favor of translational efficiency. Computation of codon adaptation indices for expression in heterologous systems indicated that the reading frames most suitable for expression ofnif genes in Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were present in azotobacters, clostridia, and cyanobacteria, respectively. In codon-usage-based cluster analysis, type 3 nitrogenase genes of Azotobacter vinelandii grouped along with type 1 and type 2 genes. This is in contrast to the nucleotide sequence-based multiple alignment in which type 3 nitrogenase genes of A. vinelandii have been reported to cluster with entirely unrelated diazotrophs such as methanogens and clostridia. This may be indicative of lateral transfer ofnif genes among widely divergent taxons. The chromosomal- and plasmid-located nif genes of rhizobia also cluster separately in nucleotide sequence-based analysis but showed similar codon usage. These analyses suggested that the phylogeny of nif genes drawn on the basis of nucleotide sequence homology was not masked by the taxon-specific pressure on codon usage.

Item Type:Article
Source:Copyright of this article belongs to Springer.
Keywords:Nucleotide Sequence Analysis; Nitrogen Fixation Genes; Codon Usage; Translational Selection; Phylogeny; Cluster Analysis; Cyanobacteria
ID Code:54627
Deposited On:12 Aug 2011 06:59
Last Modified:12 Aug 2011 06:59

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