Signals of positive selection in mitochondrial protein-coding genes of woolly mammoth: Adaptation to extreme environments?

ABSTRACT: The mammoths originated in warm and equatorial Africa and later colonized cold and high-latitude environments. Studies on nuclear genes suggest that woolly mammoth had evolved genetic variations involved in processes relevant to cold tolerance, including lipid metabolism and thermogenesis, and adaptation to extremely varied light and darkness cycles. The mitochondria is a major regulator of cellular energy metabolism, thus the mitogenome of mammoths may also exhibit adaptive evolution. However, little is yet known in this regard. In this study, we analyzed mitochondrial protein-coding genes (MPCGs) sequences of 75 broadly distributed woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) to test for signatures of positive selection. Results showed that a total of eleven amino acid sites in six gen

SUBMITTER: Ngatia JN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6662336 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature