The elusive nature of adaptive mitochondrial DNA evolution of an arctic lineage prone to frequent introgression.

ABSTRACT: Mitochondria play a fundamental role in cellular metabolism, being responsible for most of the energy production of the cell in the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) pathway. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) encodes for key components of this process, but its direct role in adaptation remains far from understood. Hares (Lepus spp.) are privileged models to study the impact of natural selection on mitogenomic evolution because 1) species are adapted to contrasting environments, including arctic, with different metabolic pressures, and 2) mtDNA introgression from arctic into temperate species is widespread. Here, we analyzed the sequences of 11 complete mitogenomes (ten newly obtained) of hares of temperate and arctic origins (including two of arctic origin introgressed into temperate species). Th

SUBMITTER: Melo-Ferreira J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4007550 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature