Published Paper Details:

Study of molecular biology of fishes sheds light on the mechanisms guiding evolution and forming the diversity of fishes on Earth. It contributes to the understanding of the genetic foundations of evolutionary change, the creation of new species, and the adaptation to diverse environments. Studying mitochondrial genes of an organism using codon usage bias (CUB) is important because it helps reveal the patterns of evolution in the context of molecular biology. In this study on the MT-CYB gene of Balitoridae family, we described the codon usage patterns and the variables that influenced it. According to correspondence analysis (COA), axis-1 reflected 43.05% of the codon usage variation, whereas axis-2 occupied 16.70% of the total variation. GC content in three codon positions of CYB gene was found in the order GC1>GC3>GC2. With a ratio of 0.0768/0.9232=0.08, the neutrality plot demonstrated that both the evolutionary forces (mutation and natural selection) had an effect on the MT-CYB gene. Natural selection was shown to be the most important factor, while compositional constraints and mutation pressure were also significant in influencing the pattern of codon usage. Thirteen codons were found to be over-represented, whereas twenty-four codons were found to be under-represented as revealed by the RSCU values of the codons in mitochondrial cytochrome B gene of Balitoridae. Analysis of codon usage patterns increased our comprehension of the mechanisms driving the codon distribution and the evolutionary significance of the MT-CYB gene.