Characterization of Codon Usage Bias in the Newly Identified DEV UL53 Gene

Codon usage bias in UL53 gene of DEV was analyzed in this paper, the results indicated that it had strong bias towards to the synonymous codons with A or T at the third codon position. The codon usage bias of DEV UL53 gene and 26 reference herpesviruses were analyzed by EMBOSS program and RSCU. In addition, Phylogenetic tree indicated DEV was evolutionarily closer to CaHV-2, CaHV-3, MeHV-1. The ENC-GC_3S plot revealed that the genetic heterogeneity in UL53 gene of herpesviruses was constrained by G+C content at the third codon position. Conclusions: The extent of codon usage bias in the DEV UL53 gene was highly correlated with the gene composition. Analysis of correspondence through the SAS statistics software showed the yeast expression system might be more suitable for the expression of DEV genes.