Correlation between the abundance of yeast transfer RNAs and the occurrence of the respective codons in protein genes

Clear correlations between predictions and the actual preferences among synonymous codons were revealed, indicating that the codon choices in yeast genes are also constrained by a combination of tRNA availability and nature of its codon recognition.

Abstract

There exists a similarity among the synonymous codon choice patterns of the yeast nuclear genes that have been sequenced thus far although these genes encode different types of protein molecules, and the patterns are significantly different from those of Escherichia coli genes. Based on constraints caused by the availability of E. coli transfer RNAs and the nature of their codon recognition related to the modified nucleotides at the anticodon wobble position, the characteristic patterns of synonymous codon choice commonly found for E. coli genes have been almost completely explained (Ikemura, 1981a, b). In the present paper, tRNAs of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae were separated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and the relative abundance of purified tRNA molecules was measured on the basis of molecular numbers in cells. A strong correlation between tRNA abundance and codon choice was found for each nuclear gene of yeast, but the correlation was less significant for 2μ plasmid genes. According to the criteria proposed for E. coli genes (Ikemura, 1981b) the order of codon preference in yeast nuclear genes was predicted based on the abundance of yeast isoaccepting tRNAs and on the nature of the modified nucleotides at their anticodons. Clear correlations between predictions and the actual preferences among synonymous codons were revealed, indicating that the codon choices in yeast genes are also constrained by a combination of tRNA availability and nature of its codon recognition. Then the difference in synonymous codon use between the two organisms can be attributed to the difference in these two factors.