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Experimental reduction of codon bias in the Drosophila alcohol dehydrogenase gene results in decreased ethanol tolerance of adult flies
Author(s) -
Carlini David B.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2004.00725.x
Subject(s) - biology , alcohol dehydrogenase , drosophila (subgenus) , gene , ethanol , genetics , alcohol , zoology , biochemistry
Abstract The ethanol tolerance of adult transgenic flies of Drosophila containing between zero and ten unpreferred synonymous mutations that reduced codon bias in the alcohol dehydrogenase ( Adh ) gene was assayed. As the amino acid sequences of the ADH protein were identical in the four genotypes assayed, differences in ethanol tolerance were due to differences in the abundance of ADH protein, presumably driven by the effects of codon bias on translational efficiency. The ethanol tolerance of genotypes decreased with the number of unpreferred synonymous mutations, and a positive correlation between ADH protein abundance and ethanol tolerance was observed. This work confirms that the fitness effects of unpreferred synonymous mutations that reduce codon bias in a highly expressed gene are experimentally measurable in Drosophila melanogaster .