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Mitochondrial DNA Content Contributes to Climate Adaptation Using Chinese Populations as a Model

Maintaining a balance between ATP synthesis and heat generation is crucial for adapting to changes in climate. Variation in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which encodes 13 subunits of the respiratory chain complexes, may contribute to climate adaptation by regulating thermogenesis and the use of bio...

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Autores principales: Cheng, Yao-Ting, Liu, Jia, Yang, Li-Qin, Sun, Chang, Kong, Qing-Peng
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2013
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3821843/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24255706
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0079536
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author Cheng, Yao-Ting
Liu, Jia
Yang, Li-Qin
Sun, Chang
Kong, Qing-Peng
author_facet Cheng, Yao-Ting
Liu, Jia
Yang, Li-Qin
Sun, Chang
Kong, Qing-Peng
author_sort Cheng, Yao-Ting
collection PubMed
description Maintaining a balance between ATP synthesis and heat generation is crucial for adapting to changes in climate. Variation in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which encodes 13 subunits of the respiratory chain complexes, may contribute to climate adaptation by regulating thermogenesis and the use of bioenergy. However, studies looking for a relationship between mtDNA haplogroups and climate have obtained mixed results, leaving unresolved the role of mtDNA in climate adaptation. Since mtDNA content can regulate human bioenergy processes and is known to influence many physiological traits and diseases, it is possible that mtDNA content contributes to climate adaptation in human populations. Here, we analyze the distribution of mtDNA content among 27 Chinese ethnic populations residing across China and find a significant association between mtDNA content and climate, with northern populations having significantly higher mtDNA content than southern populations. Functional studies have shown that high mtDNA content correlates with an increase in the expression of energy metabolism enzymes, which may accelerate thermogenesis. This suggests that the significantly higher mtDNA content observed in northern populations may confer a selective advantage in adapting to colder northern climates
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spelling pubmed-38218432013-11-19 Mitochondrial DNA Content Contributes to Climate Adaptation Using Chinese Populations as a Model Cheng, Yao-Ting Liu, Jia Yang, Li-Qin Sun, Chang Kong, Qing-Peng PLoS One Research Article Maintaining a balance between ATP synthesis and heat generation is crucial for adapting to changes in climate. Variation in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which encodes 13 subunits of the respiratory chain complexes, may contribute to climate adaptation by regulating thermogenesis and the use of bioenergy. However, studies looking for a relationship between mtDNA haplogroups and climate have obtained mixed results, leaving unresolved the role of mtDNA in climate adaptation. Since mtDNA content can regulate human bioenergy processes and is known to influence many physiological traits and diseases, it is possible that mtDNA content contributes to climate adaptation in human populations. Here, we analyze the distribution of mtDNA content among 27 Chinese ethnic populations residing across China and find a significant association between mtDNA content and climate, with northern populations having significantly higher mtDNA content than southern populations. Functional studies have shown that high mtDNA content correlates with an increase in the expression of energy metabolism enzymes, which may accelerate thermogenesis. This suggests that the significantly higher mtDNA content observed in northern populations may confer a selective advantage in adapting to colder northern climates Public Library of Science 2013-11-08 /pmc/articles/PMC3821843/ /pubmed/24255706 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0079536 Text en © 2013 Cheng et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Cheng, Yao-Ting
Liu, Jia
Yang, Li-Qin
Sun, Chang
Kong, Qing-Peng
Mitochondrial DNA Content Contributes to Climate Adaptation Using Chinese Populations as a Model
title Mitochondrial DNA Content Contributes to Climate Adaptation Using Chinese Populations as a Model
title_full Mitochondrial DNA Content Contributes to Climate Adaptation Using Chinese Populations as a Model
title_fullStr Mitochondrial DNA Content Contributes to Climate Adaptation Using Chinese Populations as a Model
title_full_unstemmed Mitochondrial DNA Content Contributes to Climate Adaptation Using Chinese Populations as a Model
title_short Mitochondrial DNA Content Contributes to Climate Adaptation Using Chinese Populations as a Model
title_sort mitochondrial dna content contributes to climate adaptation using chinese populations as a model
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3821843/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24255706
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0079536
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