Title:Melocular Evolution on Cold Temperature Adaptation of Chinese Rhesus Macaques
Volume: 26
Issue: 1
Author(s): Xuan Wang, Ming-Hong Feng, Shao-Bo Wang*Hong Shi*
Affiliation:
- PET/CT Center, First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming 650032, China
- State Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Institute of Primate Translational Medicine, Kunming University
of Science and Technology, Kunming,Yunnan, 650500, China
Keywords:
Melocular evolution, Macaca fascicularis, Macaca mulatta, temperature adaptation, positive selection.
Abstract:
Introduction: Currently, macaques are used as animal models for human disease in
biomedical research. There are two macaques species widely used as animal models, i.e., cynomolgus
macaques and rhesus macaques. These two primates distribute widely, and their natural habitats
are different. Cynomolgus macaques distribute in tropical climates, while rhesus macaques
mostly distribute in relatively cold environments, and cynomolgus macaques have a common frostbite
problem during winter when they are transferred to cold environments.
Method: In order to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying the temperature adaptation in
macaques, genetic analysis and natural selection tests were performed. Based on the analysis of
heat shock protein genes, DNAJC22, DNAJC28, and HSF5 showed positive selection signals. To
these 3 genes, the significantly differential expression had been confirmed between cynomolgus
macaques and Chinese rhesus macaques.
Results: Molecular evolution analysis showed that mutations of DNAJC22, DNAJC28, and HSF5
in Chinese rhesus macaques could enable them to gain the ability to rapidly regulate body temperature.
The heat shock proteins provided an important function for Chinese rhesus macaques, allowing
them to adapt to a wide range of temperatures and spread widely. The selection time that was
estimated suggested that the cold adaptation of Chinese rhesus macaques coincided with the time
that the modern human populations migrated northward from tropic regions to relatively cold regions,
and the selection genes were similar.
Conclusion: This study elucidated the evolutionary history of cynomolgus macaques and rhesus
macaques from molecular adaptation. Furthermore, it provided an evolutionary perspective to reveal
the different distribution and adaptation of macaques. Cynomolgus macaques is an ideal
biomedical animal model to mimic human natural frostbite.
