Differential selection on gene translation efficiency between the filamentous fu

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Differential selection on gene translation efficiency between the

filamentous fungus Ashbya gossypii and yeasts

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http://7thspace.com/headlines/301009/differential_selection_on_gene_t

ranslation_efficiency_between_the_filamentous_fungus_ashbya_gossypii_

and_yeasts.html

The filamentous fungus Ashbya gossypii grows into a multicellular

mycelium that is distinct from the unicellular morphology of its

closely related yeast species. It has been proposed that genes

important for cell cycle regulation play central roles for such

phenotypic differences.

Because A. gossypii shares an almost identical set of cell cycle

genes with the typical yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the

differences might occur at the level of orthologous gene regulation.

Codon usage patterns were compared to identify orthologous genes

with different gene regulation between A. gossypii and nine closely

related yeast species.

Results: Here we identified 3,151 orthologous genes between A.

gossypii and nine yeast species. Two groups of genes with

significant differences in codon usage (gene translation efficiency)

were identified between A.

gossypii and yeasts. 333 genes (Group I) and 552 genes (Group II)

have significantly higher translation efficiency in A.

gossypii and yeasts, respectively. Functional enrichment and pathway

analysis show that Group I genes are significantly enriched with

cell cycle functions whereas Group II genes are biased toward

metabolic functions.

Conclusions: Because translation efficiency of a gene is closely

related to its functional importance, the observed functional

distributions of orthologous genes with different translation

efficiency might account for phenotypic differentiation between A.

gossypii and yeast species. The results shed light on the mechanisms

for pseudohyphal growth in pathogenic yeast species.

Author: Huifeng Jiang, Yue Zhang, Jun Sun, Wen Wang and Zhenglong Gu

Credits/Source: BMC Evolutionary Biology 2008, 8:343