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Related Experiment Videos

Directionally evolving genetic code: the UGA codon from stop to tryptophan in mitochondria

Y Inagaki1, M Ehara, K I Watanabe

  • 1JT Biohistory Research Hall, 1-1 Murasaki-cho, Takatsuki, Osaka 569-1125, Japan.

Journal of Molecular Evolution
|October 10, 1998
PubMed
Summary

Mitochondrial genetic codes show the UGA codon is reassigned to tryptophan (Trp) in some protists. This suggests independent evolution of this deviant code across diverse eukaryotic lineages.

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Area of Science:

  • * Molecular Biology
  • * Evolutionary Biology
  • * Genetics

Background:

  • * The standard genetic code assigns UGA as a stop codon.
  • * Deviations from the universal genetic code, such as UGA encoding tryptophan, have been observed in various organisms.
  • * Understanding these variations provides insights into mitochondrial evolution.

Purpose of the Study:

  • * To investigate deviant genetic codes in protistan mitochondria.
  • * To analyze the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (coxI) gene sequences in selected protists.
  • * To determine the phylogenetic distribution of the UGA-to-tryptophan reassignment.

Main Methods:

  • * Sequencing of a 1.1-kb region of the mitochondrial coxI gene.
  • * Analysis of codon usage in two chlorarachniophytes, Euglypha rotunda, Cryptomonas ovata, Diacronema vlkianum, and Melosira ambigua.

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  • * Phylogenetic analysis of COXI sequences from 56 eukaryotes.

    • Main Results:

    • * The UGA codon is reassigned to tryptophan (Trp) in two chlorarachniophytes and Euglypha rotunda.
    • * This UGA-for-Trp code is not monophyletic across the studied eukaryotes.
    • * Previous reports indicate this deviant code in animals, fungi, ciliates, and other protists, with exceptions like Pavlovales.

    Conclusions:

    • * The ancestral mitochondrion likely used the universal genetic code.
    • * The UGA-to-Trp reassignment evolved independently in multiple eukaryotic lineages, including ciliates, kinetoplastids, rhodophytes, prymnesiophytes, and fungi.
    • * The study discusses the potential mechanism of directional capture of the UGA codon by tryptophan tRNA.