Mt DNA and energy production. Do Mt U people love to suntan?

Mitochondrial DNA is responsible for energy production in cells. If Mt Hg U is European paleolithic one, existed in Europe during Ice Age, it would make sense to conclude that it was the best haplogroup to have for cold climate. Theoretically it produces more energy, body heat, than others especially the once which showed up in Europe when climate warmed up a lot during Neolithic.

My observation: My wife is U5a and she is more comfortable than I (H1c) in colder temperatures. I love summer and hate winter, she likes spring and fall the best and she doesn't mind winters. Counterintuitively though, she likes basking in the sun. I like hot days but I stay in shade anytime I can. However it makes evolutionary sense, mt U people of Northern Hemisphere would like to suntan to use short summer to produce vitamin D3 for the whole year, and people like Southern farmers mt H would avoid sun, not to get a skin cancer.

I wonder what is your experiences with climate or weather regarding your Mt haplogroup.

What is your Mt Hg?
1. Do you prefer colder days? Do you mind winters? Are you happier when weather cools down spring/fall?
2. Do you like to suntan? (You need to honestly like, not just do it for a nice tan, nice look)
3. Do you prefer summers to any other time of year? (You don't sweat below +25C, when doing nothing)
4. Do you like hot days but only in shade.


My wife: U5a
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. No
4. No

LeBrok: H1c
1. no
2. no
3. yes
4. yes

I also wonder, if indeed Mt U produces more energy than other Hgs, is it true for all subclades of U or only for some?

I have never been tested for a certain haplogroup but what I do know is that depression usually ran at 5 generations before my mom mtdna wise and resulted in anxiety for us guys sharing the same mtdna but here goes

1.N/A Don't mind any season
2.No
3.Yes
4.No

Even though ive not been tested yet, id be really interested on what my stats best resembles :grin:

I couldn't answer questions about which season I prefer since it highly depends on the country where I am. I like summer in northern Europe (dry, between 18-28°C), but hate it in places like Japan where it gets very hot (over 35°C) and very humid. Overall I tend not to dislike heat as much as humidity. I can bear 35°C in dry places, but I am uncomfortable with 25-30°C if it's very humid.

I am not so sure that mtDNA is enough to determine tolerance to heat or cold, since I have a large family and people sharing the same haplogroup often have very different preferences.

Interesting info about mt evolutionary adaptation to colder climates:

Maintaining a balance between ATP synthesis and heat generation is crucial for adapting to changes in climate. Variation in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which encodes 13 subunits of the respiratory chain complexes, may contribute to climate adaptation by regulating thermogenesis and the use of bioenergy. However, studies looking for a relationship between mtDNA haplogroups and climate have obtained mixed results, leaving unresolved the role of mtDNA in climate adaptation. Since mtDNA content can regulate human bioenergy processes and is known to influence many physiological traits and diseases, it is possible that mtDNA content contributes to climate adaptation in human populations. Here, we analyze the distribution of mtDNA content among 27 Chinese ethnic populations residing across China and find a significant association between mtDNA content and climate, with northern populations having significantly higher mtDNA content than southern populations. Functional studies have shown that high mtDNA content correlates with an increase in the expression of energy metabolism enzymes, which may accelerate thermogenesis. This suggests that the significantly higher mtDNA content observed in northern populations may confer a selective advantage in adapting to colder northern climates

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http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0079536

What it means is that no new mutations are needed for producing more heat in cells, but more copies of existing genes (mtDNA with more content). This is much easier to achieve than waiting for the right/beneficial mutation to occur. Taking under consideration that most Mt haplogroups are in Europe for 10k years this should be enough time for all of the to develop extra copies of genes to deal with colder climate. In this case we might not see any correlation between haplogroups and climatic zones.
Although for subclades younger than 2000 years it might have been not enough time to evolve extra copies, and we can see lack of adaptation for peoples of recent migration from south to north or vice versa.
But I guess the research would need to be done for very young and deep clades.

LeBrok said:

Interesting info about mt evolutionary adaptation to colder climates:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0079536

What it means is that no new mutations are needed for producing more heat in cells, but more copies of existing genes (mtDNA with more content). This is much easier to achieve than waiting for the right/beneficial mutation to occur. Taking under consideration that most Mt haplogroups are in Europe for 10k years this should be enough time for all of the to develop extra copies of genes to deal with colder climate. In this case we might not see any correlation between haplogroups and climatic zones.
Although for subclades younger than 2000 years it might have been not enough time to evolve extra copies, and we can see lack of adaptation for peoples of recent migration from south to north or vice versa.
But I guess the research would need to be done for very young and deep clades.

Click to expand...

Interesting stuff - we might be able to see a pattern in ancient mtdna if not modern.

I don't know what mine is unfortunately but I'm definitely a cold weather person but as mentioned above although I don't like the heat I usually overdo sun exposure when it's available - it would be funny if that was an ancestral trait from less sunny times.

LeBrok said:

...
What is your Mt Hg?
1. Do you prefer colder days? Do you mind winters? Are you happier when weather cools down spring/fall?
2. Do you like to suntan? (You need to honestly like, not just do it for a nice tan, nice look)
3. Do you prefer summers to any other time of year? (You don't sweat below +25C, when doing nothing)
4. Do you like hot days but only in shade.

...

Click to expand...

RobertColumbia: H1bi
1. yes
2. no
3. no
4. yes

Greying Wanderer said:

Interesting stuff - we might be able to see a pattern in ancient mtdna if not modern.

I don't know what mine is unfortunately but I'm definitely a cold weather person but as mentioned above although I don't like the heat I usually overdo sun exposure when it's available - it would be funny if that was an ancestral trait from less sunny times.

Click to expand...

To really be able to nail the functionality of Mtdna in relation to the climate we might need to dig down to younger subclade of no more than 5 thousand years. Europe is washed in platora of Mt haplogroups from south to north to make any sense of it now. Most importantly what have the most popular ones that others don't?