title: The base composition of the genes is correlated with the secondary structures of the encoded proteins.
abstract: The analysis of a non-redundant set of human proteins, for which both the crystallographic structures and the corresponding gene sequences are available, show that bases at third codon position are non-uniformly distributed along the coding sequences. Significant compositional differences are found by comparing the gene regions corresponding to the different secondary structures of the proteins. Inter-and intra-structure differences were most pronounced in the GC-richest genes. These results are not compatible with any proposed hypotheses based on a neutral process of formation/maintenance of the high GC(3) levels of the genes localized in the GC-richest isochores of the human genome.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio di Evoluzione Molecolare, Stazione Zoologica A. Dohrn, Naples, Italy. donofrio@sunev.szn.it
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: D'Onofrio
authors.forename: Tapash Chandra
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bernardi
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000235:genetics; D001482:Base Composition / Q000235:genetics*; D003062:Codon / Q000235:genetics; D020862:GC Rich Sequence / Q000235:genetics*; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005796:Genes / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D003062:Codon; D011506:Proteins