A comparative analysis of the evolutionary relationship between diet and enzyme targeting in bats, marsupials and other mammals

The subcellular distribution of the enzyme alanine : glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGT) in the livers of different mammals appears to be related to their natural diets. Thus, AGT tends to be mitochondrial in carnivores, peroxisomal in herbivores, and both mitochondrial and peroxisomal in omnivores. T...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Biological sciences, 2005-04, Vol.272 (1565), p.833-840
Main Authors: Birdsey, Graeme M, Lewin, Jackie, Holbrook, Joanna D, Simpson, Victor R, Cunningham, Andrew A, Danpure, Christopher J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alanine : Glyoxylate Aminotransferase
Alanine Transaminase - metabolism
Animals
Bats
Chiroptera - metabolism
Comparative Method
Diet
Dietary Selection Pressure
Enzymes
Evolution
Glyoxylates
Glyoxylates - metabolism
Immunohistochemistry
Linear Models
Liver - metabolism
Mammalia
Mammals
Marsupialia - metabolism
Mitochondria
Mitochondria - metabolism
Mitochondrial Protein Targeting
Molecular Adaptation
Peroxisomal Protein Targeting
Peroxisomes
Peroxisomes - metabolism
Phylogeny
Primates
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Summary:The subcellular distribution of the enzyme alanine : glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGT) in the livers of different mammals appears to be related to their natural diets. Thus, AGT tends to be mitochondrial in carnivores, peroxisomal in herbivores, and both mitochondrial and peroxisomal in omnivores. To what extent this relationship is an incidental consequence of phylogenetic structure or an evolutionarily meaningful adaptive response to changes in dietary selection pressure is unknown. In order to distinguish between these two possibilities, we have determined the subcellular distribution of AGT in the livers of 22 new mammalian species, including members of three orders not studied before. In addition, we have analysed the statistical relationship between AGT distribution and diet in all 77 mammalian species, from 12 different orders, for which the distribution is currently known. Our analysis shows that there is a highly significant correlation between AGT distribution and diet, independent of phylogeny. This finding is compatible with the suggestion that the variable intracellular targeting of AGT is an adaptive response to episodic changes in dietary selection pressure. To our knowledge, this is the first example of such a response being manifested at the molecular and cellular levels across the breadth of Mammalia.
ISSN:0962-8452
1471-2954
DOI:10.1098/rspb.2004.3011