Evolution of the Peroxiredoxin Gene Family: an Antioxidant Enzyme in the Context of Hypoxia-Induced by Aquatic Mammals Dives

Peroxiredoxins are a group of antioxidant enzymes that play a crucial role in eliminating hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) produced during cellular metabolism. In conditions such as tissue ischemia/reperfusion, H2O2 production is heightened. This scenario is recurrent in aquatic mammals, such as cetaceans and pinnipeds, when they perform breath-hold dives that lead to depletion of oxygen stores and cell hypoxia due to prolonged submersion. In such circumstances, peroxiredoxins are essential for regulating metabolism and preventing oxidative damage. Thus, our objective was to investigate evolutionary patterns of the peroxiredoxin gene family among aquatic mammalian species. Accordingly, we identified the number of ortholog and paralog genes among mammals, examining events of gene duplication, patterns of chromosomal distribution, and adaptive selection. We found that most subtypes of peroxiredoxins are characterized by single-copy genes with minimal missing data, with PRDX1, the most highly expressed subtype found in both the nucleus and cytoplasm, exhibiting an increase in gene copies in aquatic mammals, particularly in pinnipeds. The distribution of the copies was dispersed along the genome and the majority were retrocopies of the main coding sequence with little divergence among them. We also found evidence of positive selection in the PRDX3 gene, especially in a convergent mutation among two deepest-diving species, cuvier’s beaked whale and southern elephant seal in which the amino acid had radical physical-chemical property change, possibly affecting the protein function. These results suggest that the peroxiredoxin gene family has a role in the evolution of aquatic mammals by reducing oxidative damage intrinsic to diving behavior in these species. FAPESP - São Paulo Research Foundation. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.