Effects of synonymous codon usage bias on mRNA half-life and translational regulation

Abstract

With the widespread application of genomics and transcriptomics in the genetics and cell biology of different species, synonymous codon usage bias has been gradually accepted and used to study the deep connection between biological evolution and biological phenotypes. It is an important part of the life activities that mRNA is expressed into proteins with normal biological activities. The synonymous codon usage patterns, which were named as 'the second genetic codon', can express genetic information carried by themselves at the levels of transcriptional regulations, translational regulations and metabolic activities through molecular mechanisms such as fine-tune translation selection. Some studies have shown that the length of mRNA half-life has significant impacts on mRNA activity and the process of transcription and translation. This review summarized the roles of synonymous codon usage patterns in transcription, translational regulation and post-translational modification, with the aim to better understand how organisms skillfully utilize the genetic effects caused by codon usage patterns to accurately synthesize different types of proteins, so as to ensure the growth or differentiation of the specific gene expression procedures to carry out smoothly and maintain the normal life cycle.