Sharp P M, Li W H
Nucleic Acids Res. 1987 Feb 11;15(3):1281-95. doi: 10.1093/nar/15.3.1281.
A simple, effective measure of synonymous codon usage bias, the Codon Adaptation Index, is detailed. The index uses a reference set of highly expressed genes from a species to assess the relative merits of each codon, and a score for a gene is calculated from the frequency of use of all codons in that gene. The index assesses the extent to which selection has been effective in moulding the pattern of codon usage. In that respect it is useful for predicting the level of expression of a gene, for assessing the adaptation of viral genes to their hosts, and for making comparisons of codon usage in different organisms. The index may also give an approximate indication of the likely success of heterologous gene expression.
本文详细介绍了一种简单有效的同义密码子使用偏好性度量方法——密码子适应指数。该指数利用一个物种中高表达基因的参考集来评估每个密码子的相对优势，并根据基因中所有密码子的使用频率计算出该基因的得分。该指数评估了选择在塑造密码子使用模式方面的有效程度。在这方面，它有助于预测基因的表达水平，评估病毒基因对宿主的适应性，以及比较不同生物体中的密码子使用情况。该指数还可能大致表明异源基因表达可能取得的成功。
