relationship between evolutionary and physiological variation in hemoglobin

Physiological and evolutionary adaptations operate at very different time scales. Nevertheless, there are reasons to believe there should be a strong relationship between the two, as together they modify the phenotype. Physiological adaptations change phenotype by altering certain microscopic parame...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2007-10, Vol.104 (43), p.16998-17003
Main Authors: Milo, Ron, Hou, Jennifer H, Springer, Michael, Brenner, Michael P, Kirschner, Marc W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Physiological
Animals
Biological adaptation
Biological Evolution
Biological Sciences
Datasets
Evolution
Evolutionary adaptation
Genetics
Genotype & phenotype
Hemoglobin
Hemoglobins
Hemoglobins - physiology
Humans
Mammals
Models, Biological
Oxygen
Parametric models
Phenotype
Phenotypes
Physiology
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Summary:Physiological and evolutionary adaptations operate at very different time scales. Nevertheless, there are reasons to believe there should be a strong relationship between the two, as together they modify the phenotype. Physiological adaptations change phenotype by altering certain microscopic parameters; evolutionary adaptation can either alter genetically these same parameters or others to achieve distinct or similar ends. Although qualitative discussions of this relationship abound, there has been very little quantitative analysis. Here, we use the hemoglobin molecule as a model system to quantify the relationship between physiological and evolutionary adaptations. We compare measurements of oxygen saturation curves of 25 mammals with those of human hemoglobin under a wide range of physiological conditions. We fit the data sets to the Monod-Wyman-Changeux model to extract microscopic parameters. Our analysis demonstrates that physiological and evolutionary change act on different parameters. The main parameter that changes in the physiology of hemoglobin is relatively constant in evolution, whereas the main parameter that changes in the evolution of hemoglobin is relatively constant in physiology. This orthogonality suggests continued selection for physiological adaptability and hints at a role for this adaptability in evolutionary change.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0707673104