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Successful lateral transfer requires codon usage compatibility between foreign genes and recipient genomes
Arturo Medrano-Soto1, Gabriel Moreno-Hagelsieb, Pablo Vinuesa
1Program of Computational Genomics, Centro de Investigación sobre Fijación de Nitrógeno (UNAM), Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
Molecular Biology and Evolution
|July 9, 2004
Summary
Codon usage (CU) compatibility is key for horizontal gene transfer (HGT) success in prokaryotes. Most imported genes show typical CU upon introgression, challenging prior assumptions about poor CU aiding HGT.
Area of Science:
- Genomics
- Evolutionary Biology
- Microbial Genetics
Background:
- Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT) is a major driver of prokaryotic evolution.
- Predicting HGT events often assumes acquired genes have poor codon usage (CU).
- The role of CU compatibility in HGT fixation probability is debated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of codon usage compatibility in HGT.
- To determine if foreign genes typically exhibit poor CU upon introgression.
- To develop an unbiased framework for studying HGT dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Scanned 103 prokaryotic genomes for xenologs with similar CU.
- Analyzed CU levels (poor, typical, rich) of putative xenologs.
- Applied phylogenetic validation to confirm HGT predictions.
Main Results:
- Most alien genes exhibit typical CU immediately after introgression.
- Codon usage compatibility appears crucial for HGT fixation.
- The assumption of poor CU in acquired genes may be overstated.
Conclusions:
- Codon usage compatibility is a prerequisite for HGT selective advantage.
- CU amelioration's role in HGT may be overemphasized.
- This study provides a novel, unbiased framework for HGT evolutionary dynamics.