Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Multivariate Analysis Of Prokaryotic Amino Acid Usage Bias: A Computational Method For Understanding Protein Building Block Selection In Primitive Organisms, Douglas Whitmore Raiford Iii

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Organisms expend a significant fraction of their overall energy budget in the creation of proteins, particularly for those that are produced in large quantities. Recent research has demonstrated that genes encoding these proteins are shaped by natural selection to produce the proteins with low cost building blocks (amino acids) whenever possible. The negative correlation between protein production rate and their energetic costs has been established for two bacterial genomes: Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. This thesis provides scientific validation of this theory by automating the analysis and extending the research to additional genomes. Investigations into building block selection are highly …