An Insight into Codon Pattern Analysis of Autophagy Genes Associated with Virus Infection

Introduction: Apoptosis and autophagy are the two fundamental processes involved in maintaining homeostasis, and a common stimulus may initiate the processes. Autophagy has been implicated in various diseases, including viral infections. Genetic manipulations leading to altered gene expression might be a strategy to check virus infection. Aim: Determination of molecular patterns, relative synonymous codon usage, codon preference, codon bias, codon pair bias, and rare codons so that genetic manipulation of autophagy genes may be done to curb viral infection. Methods: Using various software, algorithms, and statistical analysis, insights into codon patterns were obtained. A total of 41 autophagy genes were envisaged as they are involved in virus infection. Results: The A/T and G/C ending codons are preferred by different genes. AAA-GAA and CAG-CTG codon pairs are the most abundant codon pairs. CGA, TCG, CCG, and GCG are rarely used codons. Conclusion: The information generated in the present study helps manipulate the gene expression level of virus infection-associated autophagy genes through gene modification tools like CRISPR. Codon deoptimization for reducing while codon pair optimization for enhancing is efficacious for HO-1 gene expression.