Human local adaptation of the TRPM8 cold receptor along a latitudinal cline.

ABSTRACT: Ambient temperature is a critical environmental factor for all living organisms. It was likely an important selective force as modern humans recently colonized temperate and cold Eurasian environments. Nevertheless, as of yet we have limited evidence of local adaptation to ambient temperature in populations from those environments. To shed light on this question, we exploit the fact that humans are a cosmopolitan species that inhabit territories under a wide range of temperatures. Focusing on cold perception-which is central to thermoregulation and survival in cold environments-we show evidence of recent local adaptation on TRPM8. This gene encodes for a cation channel that is, to date, the only temperature receptor known to mediate an endogenous response to moderate cold. The upstream var

SUBMITTER: Key FM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5933706 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature