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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Isolation and Differentiation of Primary White and Brown Preadipocytes from Newborn Mice

Isolation and Differentiation of Primary White and Brown Preadipocytes from Newborn Mice

Published on: January 25, 2021

Modular evolution of PGC-1alpha in vertebrates.

Christophe M R LeMoine¹, Stephen C Lougheed, Christopher D Moyes

¹Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. clemoin@mcmaster.ca

Journal of Molecular Evolution

|May 6, 2010

Summary

The peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1alpha) protein evolved modularly across vertebrates. Its interaction domains show lineage-specific adaptations, impacting its function in regulating mitochondrial gene expression.

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary biology
Molecular biology
Genomics

Background:

Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1alpha) is a key regulator of mitochondrial gene expression and oxidative capacity in mammals.
The precise role of PGC-1alpha in lower vertebrates, particularly its involvement in NRF-1 regulation, remains unclear.
Understanding the evolutionary trajectory of PGC-1alpha is crucial for deciphering its diverse functions across vertebrate lineages.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the evolutionary patterns and functional diversification of PGC-1alpha homologs in representative vertebrate lineages.
To compare the evolutionary dynamics of different functional domains of PGC-1alpha between fish and mammals.
To identify sequence variations in PGC-1alpha that may explain lineage-specific functional differences.

Main Methods:

Phylogenetic analysis of PGC-1 paralogs to understand gene family evolution.
Bayesian and maximum likelihood phylogenetic reconstructions of PGC-1alpha across vertebrate species.
Comparative analysis of amino acid sequences, focusing on interaction domains (PPAR, NRF-1, MEF2c).

Main Results:

The PGC-1 gene family diversified early in vertebrate evolution due to genome duplication events.
The activation/PPAR interaction domain of PGC-1alpha is highly conserved across vertebrates.
NRF-1 and MEF2c interaction domains evolved faster in actinopterygians (fish) than sarcopterygians (tetrapods), with teleosts showing serine- and glutamine-rich insertions.
These variations suggest lineage-specific functional adaptations in PGC-1alpha coactivating capabilities.

Conclusions:

PGC-1alpha exhibits modular evolution across vertebrates, with distinct evolutionary rates in its functional domains.
Accelerated evolution and sequence insertions in fish PGC-1alpha likely confer lineage-specific regulatory functions.
This modularity allows for adaptive divergence in mitochondrial regulation and oxidative capacity across vertebrate evolution.