Correlation between molecular clock ticking, codon usage, fidelity of DNA repair, chromosome banding and chromatin compactness in germline cells

The vertebrate genome is built of long DNA regions, relatively homogeneous in GC content, which likely correspond to bands on stained chromosomes. Large differences in composition have been found among DNA regions belonging to the same genome. They are paralleled by differences in codon usage in genes differently localized. The hypothesis presented here asserts that these differences in composition are caused by different mutational bias of α and β DNA polymerases, these polymerases being involved to different extents in the repair of DNA lesions in compact and relaxed chromatin, respectively, in germline cells.

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