Study
Convergent evolution of antifreeze glycoproteins in Antarctic notothenioid fish and Arctic cod
Chen, Liangbiao; DeVries, Arthur L.; Cheng, Chi-Hing C.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1997
Compared the antifreeze glycoprotein genes of Antarctic notothenioids and Arctic cod, which produce nearly identical proteins, and traced each back to its ancestral sequence.
- Studied in
- Notothenioidei, Boreogadus saida
- Sample size
- comparative gene sequencing in two distant lineages
The two lineages produce essentially the same antifreeze protein from completely unrelated ancestral genes, in oceans at opposite poles, having evolved it independently.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
The same protein solution was reached twice from different starting material, which is convergent evolution demonstrated at the level of sequence rather than inferred from form.
How NatureHQ reads it
One of the strongest convergence results available, because the usual objection — that similar forms might reflect shared ancestry — is closed off by the genes themselves. NatureHQ uses it to show what convergence looks like when the evidence is decisive.
- Two lineages; how often the same solution has been reached elsewhere is not addressed.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesPublished in PNAS.
doi.org/10.1073/pnas.94.8.3817
Checked against Crossref on 2026-09-28, and they agree on the title, the authors and the year.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-09-03.