Scientists: a billion people on the planet underwent mutations, they are deprived of an important muscle protein

A billion inhabitants of the planet does not have muscle protein that allows you to make sharp efforts. Apparently, thanks to this mutation, our ancestors could withstand long transitions and cold, and the French newspaper Le Figaro writes on Thursday about this opening.

In 1999, Katherine North from the University of Sydney discovered that 18% of people of European origin were deprived of an important protein - alpha actin 3 (ActN3). This protein of skeletal muscles is used by quick fibers, which are used for sharp loads. Nevertheless, people who do not have this protein completely cope with conventional loads (full text on the website inopressa.ru ).

Continuing the study, scientists studied athletes of their country and found that all the women-entrusters have ActN3. In men, this gene is present if they are playing sports, requiring intensive loads of the Olympic level.

ActN3, apparently, is necessary athletes for quick muscle activity. And vice versa, its absence favors longer loads: the number of athletes that do not have this gene increases in sports that require endurance, and reaches a peak among Australian marathoners.

ActN3 is the main muscle indicator for sports that require high loads. “But this is true only for people of European or Asian origin, which are mostly devoid of ActN3,” Catherine North said. According to her, the inhabitants of Africa retained the Actn3 non -uniting gene that produces this protein.

Oxygen is used optimally

This mutation, which is so common in the world, are obvious to advantages. Katherine North came to this conclusion, watching animals.

Having turned off the ActN3 gene in mice, scientists noticed that rapid muscle fibers of animals are better to adapt to the use of oxygen, improving the oxygen metabolism responsible for endurance. On the run-in path, mouse mouse fled 33% longer than others, which confirmed the advantage originally noticed by the Australian marathoners. Instead of quickly, but partially, burning energy in the form of carbohydrates, the bulk of the muscle mass can more fully use energy to overcome longer loads.

“Now we can explain how this genetic change affects sports achievements,” Katherine North explains, “as well as why it spread among the population: the metabolism that more effectively uses oxygen apparently helped people survive during the resettlement from Africa when they came across hunger and more hostile and cold climate.”

Thus, the connection was established between the factors that helped people survive in the past, and the factors that help improve their athletic capabilities in the present, the newspaper writes.