Adaptive evolution of mitochondrial energy metabolism genes associated with increased energy demand in flying insects.

ABSTRACT: Insects are unique among invertebrates for their ability to fly, which raises intriguing questions about how energy metabolism in insects evolved and changed along with flight. Although physiological studies indicated that energy consumption differs between flying and non-flying insects, the evolution of molecular energy metabolism mechanisms in insects remains largely unexplored. Considering that about 95% of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is supplied by mitochondria via oxidative phosphorylation, we examined 13 mitochondrial protein-encoding genes to test whether adaptive evolution of energy metabolism-related genes occurred in insects. The analyses demonstrated that mitochondrial DNA protein-encoding genes are subject to positive selection from the last common ancestor of Pterygota, which

SUBMITTER: Yang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4053383 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature