title: Factors affecting codon bias in the mitochondrial genomes of the streptophyte Mesostigma viride and the chlorophyte Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
abstract: Mitochondrial genomes typically show genome-wide patterns of synonymous codon usage bias. In animals and land plants, mutation appears more dominant than selection in shaping this bias, while in green algae the relative importance of these factors is not well studied. Based on our analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequence from the green algae Mesostigma viride (NIES-296) and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (CC-277) and a closely related relative of each, we conclude that both mutation and selection are important in shaping synonymous codon usage bias in their mitochondrial genomes, with selection being more dominant. The possible confounding influence of mutational context dependence on our analyses is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
authors.forename: Jimeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hua
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D002696:Chlamydomonas / Q000235:genetics*; D003062:Codon / Q000235:genetics*; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D054629:Genome, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D009154:Mutation; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D057949:Streptophyta / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D003062:Codon; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial