PUBLICATION

Marsupial uncoupling protein 1 sheds light on the evolution of mammalian nonshivering thermogenesis

Authors
Jastroch, M., Withers, K.W., Taudien, S., Frappell, P.B., Helwig, M., Fromme, T., Hirschberg, V., Heldmaier, G., McAllan, B.M., Firth, B.T., Burmester, T., Platzer, M., and Klingenspor, M.
ID
ZDB-PUB-100415-1
Date
2008
Source
Physiological Genomics   32(2): 161-169 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Keywords
marsupials, brown adipose tissue, cold acclimation
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Blotting, Northern
  • Cold Temperature
  • Evolution, Molecular*
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Humans
  • In Situ Hybridization
  • Ion Channels/genetics*
  • Mammals/classification
  • Mammals/genetics
  • Marsupialia/embryology
  • Marsupialia/genetics*
  • Marsupialia/growth & development
  • Mitochondrial Proteins/genetics*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Opossums/genetics
  • Phylogeny
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Shivering
  • Thermogenesis/genetics*
PubMed
17971503 Full text @ Physiol. Genomics
Abstract
Brown adipose tissue expressing uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) is responsible for adaptive nonshivering thermogenesis giving eutherian mammals crucial advantage to survive the cold. The emergence of this thermogenic organ during mammalian evolution remained unknown as the identification of UCP1 in marsupials failed so far. Here, we unequivocally identify the marsupial UCP1 ortholog in a genomic library of Monodelphis domestica. In South American and Australian marsupials, UCP1 is exclusively expressed in distinct adipose tissue sites and appears to be recruited by cold exposure in the smallest species under investigation (Sminthopsis crassicaudata). Our data suggest that an archetypal brown adipose tissue was present at least 150 million yr ago allowing early mammals to produce endogenous heat in the cold, without dependence on shivering and locomotor activity.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping