title: Preferential use of minor codons in the translation initiation region of human genes.
abstract: More than 31,000 protein-coding sequences (CCDS) have been identified in the human genome. Here, we analyzed codon usage in all human CCDS and found that there is a preferential usage of minor codons for Ala (CGC), Pro (CCG), Ser (UCG), and Thr (ACG) in the initial 50-codon sequences of the CCDS. These codons, with consensus XCG sequences, are most infrequently used among their synonymous codons. Thus, the tRNA concentrations per codon are considered to be highest for the minor codons for Ala, Pro, Ser and Thr in comparison with other synonymous codons for each of them to enhance the translation efficiency. This suggests that human genes are regulated at the level of translation by preferentially using minor codons within the first 50 codons of the CCDS. This hypothesis was experimentally confirmed by comparing the expression of the luciferase gene encoded by minor codons with that encoded by major codons.
authors.affiliation: Bio-Evaluation Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju, Chungbuk, 28116, Republic of Korea. jungho@kribb.re.kr.
authors.forename: Jung-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Innovative Drug Research Laboratories, Dong-A ST, Yongin, Gyeonggi, 17073, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Munjin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: OCU Advanced Research Institute for Natural Science and Technology, Osaka City University, Sugimoto, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, 558-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA.
authors.forename: Bonnie L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Firestein
authors.affiliation: Bio-Evaluation Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju, Chungbuk, 28116, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ji-Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Bio-Evaluation Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju, Chungbuk, 28116, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jieun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.affiliation: Bio-Evaluation Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongju, Chungbuk, 28116, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong-Ook
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA. inouye@cabm.rutgers.edu.|Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA. inouye@cabm.rutgers.edu.
authors.forename: Masayori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inouye
mesh_terms: D003062:Codon; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D015894:Genome, Human; D006801:Humans; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010442:Peptide Chain Initiation, Translational / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D003062:Codon