Amino acid composition of proteins reduces deleterious impact of mutations

54Citations
Citations of this article
126Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

The evolutionary origin of amino acid occurrence frequencies in proteins (composition) is not yet fully understood. We suggest that protein composition works alongside the genetic code to minimize impact of mutations on protein structure. First, we propose a novel method for estimating thermodynamic stability of proteins whose sequence is constrained to a fixed composition. Second, we quantify the average deleterious impact of substituting one amino acid with another. Natural proteome compositions are special in at least two ways: 1) Natural compositions do not generate more stable proteins than the average random composition, however, they result in proteins that are less susceptible to damage from mutations. 2) Natural proteome compositions that result in more stable proteins (i.e. those of thermophiles) are also tuned to have a higher tolerance for mutations. This is consistent with the observation that environmental factors selecting for more stable proteins also enhance the deleterious impact of mutations.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Hormoz, S. (2013). Amino acid composition of proteins reduces deleterious impact of mutations. Scientific Reports, 3. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep02919

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free