Tiger codon usage

Panthera tigris

Synonymous codon usage in Tiger (Panthera tigris), computed from 249 RefSeq coding sequences. Third positions are 51.8% G or C, below the median across the 26 organisms catalogued on this site, making it 20th of 26 by that measure. An effective number of codons of 56.2 indicates weak bias: the closer that value sits to 61, the more evenly an organism spreads its synonymous choices.

51.8%GC3 content
56.2Effective codons (Nc)
249Coding sequences
20/26GC3 rank here

Scope: nuclear genes only

NCBI table 1 (Standard). Do not apply these frequencies to mitochondrial genes, where AGA, AGG, ATA and TGA carry different meanings. The four reassignments.

What distinguishes this table

The most constrained choice in Tiger is glutamine: of its 2 synonymous codons, CAG takes 68% of the family. Aspartate sits at the other end, spread almost evenly across its options (evenness 1.00 against 0.91 for glutamine). Those two families are where a codon-optimizer has the most and the least room to move.

Measured across all 59 sense codons, this table correlates most closely with Giant panda (r = 0.995) and least with M. tuberculosis (r = 0.704). A sequence tuned for the first would need little adjustment to move here; one tuned for the second would need a great deal.

Relative to the average across the 26 organisms on this site, Tiger leans hardest on TAT (+0.072 against the mean) and avoids ATC most (-0.085). Those two are the codons that most distinguish this table from the others.

Preferred and avoided codons

Amino acid PreferredFreqRSCU AvoidedFreqRSCU
Alanine AGCC0.3681.47GCG0.1340.53
Arginine RAGA0.2791.67CGT0.0820.49
Asparagine NAAT0.5151.03AAC0.4850.97
Aspartate DGAT0.5051.01GAC0.4950.99
Cysteine CTGC0.5311.06TGT0.4690.94
Glutamate EGAG0.5151.03GAA0.4840.97
Glutamine QCAG0.6781.36CAA0.3220.64
Glycine GGGC0.3161.27GGT0.1810.72
Histidine HCAC0.5271.05CAT0.4730.95
Isoleucine IATT0.4091.23ATA0.1990.60
Leucine LCTG0.3402.04CTA0.0780.47
Lysine KAAG0.5121.02AAA0.4880.98
Phenylalanine FTTT0.5151.03TTC0.4850.97
Proline PCCT0.3051.22CCG0.1400.56
Serine STCT0.2101.26TCG0.0580.35
Threonine TACC0.3061.22ACG0.1390.56
Tyrosine YTAT0.5161.03TAC0.4840.97
Valine VGTG0.4201.68GTA0.1330.53

Full codon usage table

Amino acidCodonFrequencyRSCUShare of family
Alanine AGCC0.36841.474
GCT0.27471.099
GCA0.22320.893
GCG0.13360.534
Arginine RAGA0.27901.674
AGG0.22141.328
CGG0.15950.957
CGC0.14020.841
CGA0.11760.706
CGT0.08220.493
Asparagine NAAT0.51461.029
AAC0.48540.971
Aspartate DGAT0.50521.010
GAC0.49480.990
Cysteine CTGC0.53091.062
TGT0.46910.938
Glutamate EGAG0.51551.031
GAA0.48450.969
Glutamine QCAG0.67801.356
CAA0.32200.644
Glycine GGGC0.31641.266
GGA0.28081.123
GGG0.22200.888
GGT0.18080.723
Histidine HCAC0.52691.054
CAT0.47310.946
Isoleucine IATT0.40911.227
ATC0.39171.175
ATA0.19930.598
Leucine LCTG0.33962.038
CTC0.17691.061
CTT0.15740.944
TTG0.15430.926
TTA0.09380.563
CTA0.07790.467
Lysine KAAG0.51201.024
AAA0.48800.976
Methionine MATG1.00001.000
Phenylalanine FTTT0.51541.031
TTC0.48460.969
Proline PCCT0.30501.220
CCC0.27911.116
CCA0.27571.103
CCG0.14020.561
Serine STCT0.21001.260
AGC0.20721.243
TCC0.19801.188
AGT0.17091.025
TCA0.15550.933
TCG0.05830.350
Threonine TACC0.30571.223
ACT0.28101.124
ACA0.27411.096
ACG0.13920.557
Tryptophan WTGG1.00001.000
Tyrosine YTAT0.51561.031
TAC0.48440.969
Valine VGTG0.41971.679
GTC0.23610.944
GTT0.21150.846
GTA0.13280.531

Provenance

Computed from 249 RefSeq coding sequences for Panthera tigris, sampled and counted codon by codon. Frequencies are relative within each amino acid family. Page generated 2026-08-09.

The full derivation of GC3, RSCU and the effective number of codons, along with the limits of each, is set out once in the methods note rather than repeated on every page.

Use this table

Nucleora codon-optimizes a coding sequence against this table directly, then folds the result and reports where structure would interfere with expression.

Request access All 26 organisms