Relaxed constraint and functional divergence of the progesterone receptor (PGR) in the human stem-lineage.

ABSTRACT: The steroid hormone progesterone, acting through the progesterone receptor (PR), a ligand-activated DNA-binding transcription factor, plays an essential role in regulating nearly every aspect of female reproductive biology. While many reproductive traits regulated by PR are conserved in mammals, Catarrhine primates evolved several derived traits including spontaneous decidualization, menstruation, and a divergent (and unknown) parturition signal, suggesting that PR may also have evolved divergent functions in Catarrhines. There is conflicting evidence, however, whether the progesterone receptor gene (PGR) was positively selected in the human lineage. Here we show that PGR evolved rapidly in the human stem-lineage (as well as other Catarrhine primates), which likely reflects an episode of r

SUBMITTER: Marinic M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7190170 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature