Abstract
The mechanism of oxidative phosphorylation is well understood, but evolution of the proteins involved is not. We combined phylogenetic, genomic, and structural biology analyses to examine the evolution of twelve mitochondrial encoded proteins of closely related, yet phenotypically diverse, Pacific salmon. Two separate analyses identified the same seven positively selected sites in ND5. A strong signal was also detected at three sites of ND2. An energetic coupling analysis revealed several structures in the ND5 protein that may have co-evolved with the selected sites. These data implicate Complex I, specifically the piston arm of ND5 where it connects the proton pumps, as important in the evolution of Pacific salmon. Lastly, the lineage to Chinook experienced rapid evolution at the piston arm.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e24127 |
| Journal | PLoS ONE |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 28 2011 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
We would like to thank Drs. David Tallmon and Megan McPhee for their suggestions and insights into the original analysis. Without their encouragement and ideas, this project would not have progressed as it did. The authors also thank Dr. David A McClellan at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences for his help and advice with the program TreeSAAP. Finally, we would like to thank the Rasmuson Foundation for the support of M. Garvin's PhD work and the anonymous reviewer for his or her comments and suggestions.