Synonymous substitutions are clustered in enterobacterial genes.
The spatial distribution of synonymous substitutions in enterobacterial genes is investigated. It is shown that synonymous substitutions are significantly clustered in such a way that a synonymous substitution in one codon elevates the rate of synonymous substitution in an adjacent codon by about 10%. The level of clustering does not appear to be related to the level of gene expression, and it is restricted to a range of two or three codons. There are at least three possible explanations: (1) sequence-directed mutagenesis, (2) recombination, and (3) selection.
Eyre-Walker
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Department of Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08855-1059.
D001483:Base Sequence; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000235:genetics*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D005815:Genetic Code; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed / Q000235:genetics; D011995:Recombination, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000235:genetics; D012641:Selection, Genetic