Klitting R., Gould E. A., Lamballerie Xavier de. (2016). G plus C content differs in conserved and variable amino acid residues of flaviviruses and other evolutionary groups. Infection Genetics and Evolution, 45, p. 332-340. ISSN 1567-1348.
Titre du document
G plus C content differs in conserved and variable amino acid residues of flaviviruses and other evolutionary groups
Infection Genetics and Evolution, 2016,
45, p. 332-340 ISSN 1567-1348
Flaviviruses are small RNA viruses that exhibit genetic and ecological diversity and awide range of G + C content (GC%). We discovered that, amongst flaviviruses, the GC% of nucleotides encoding conserved amino acid (AA) residues was consistently higher than that of nucleotides encoding variable AAs. This intriguing phenomenon was also identified for a wide range of other viruses, and some non-viral evolutionary groups. Here, we analyse the possible mechanisms underlying this imbalanced nucleotide content (in particular the role of the specific G content and the AA composition in flaviviral genomes) and discuss its evolutionary implications. Our findings suggest that one of the most simple characteristics of the genetic code (i.e., the G or G + C content of codons) is linked with the evolutionary behavior of the corresponding encoded AAs.
