Effects of Synonymous Mutations beyond Codon Bias: The Evidence for Adaptive Synonymous Substitutions from Microbial Evolution Experiments.

Abstract excerpt

Synonymous mutations are often assumed to be neutral with respect to fitness because they do not alter the encoded amino acid and so cannot be "seen" by natural selection. Yet a growing body of evidence suggests that synonymous mutations can have fitness effects that drive adaptive evolution through their impacts on gene expression and protein folding. Here, we review what microbial experiments have taught us...

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