Scientists from England have confirmed that it causes genetic changes in polar bears in the North Atlantic. This is according to new research, in which for the first time they have shown a statistically significant link between rising temperatures and DNA changes in a wild mammal species. Scientists have discovered a strong link between rising temperatures in southeast Greenland and changes in the DNA of polar bears. These genetic changes may help them better adapt to higher temperatures caused by global warming.
“We still need to do everything we can to reduce global carbon emissions and slow the rise in temperatures.” protected study author Dr. Alice Godden from the University of East Anglia with the fact that nature is trying to adapt, but the one who will ultimately pay for the sudden climate change will be humans.
Her team analyzed blood samples from polar bears from two regions of Greenland – from the northeast and southeast. The aim was to compare the activity of jumping genes, i.e. DNA sequences that can move from one place in the genome to another. This movement can turn certain genes on or off, leading to changes in the organism’s properties. However, it can also create harmful genetic mutations.
“Jumping genes are molecules that don’t stay in one place. They copy themselves and move around freely, and are more likely to do so when the animal is—in this case—extremely overheated or starving. It’s possible that the activity of the jumping genes will result in harmful mutations. But it’s likely that their cells will repair them and not be passed on to future generations of bears.” Godden thinks.
Scientists already knew in advance that temperatures in the northeastern part of Greenland are lower and more stable than in the southeastern region, which is significantly warmer and has less sea ice. As expected, the activity of jumping genes was higher in bears from the southeast, which corresponds to higher temperatures in this area.
The results show that ice bears in southeast Greenland are naturally adapting to increasingly demanding conditionswhere temperatures are higher and the ice cover is fragmented. In this population, some genes associated with heat stress, aging and metabolism behave differently than in more northern populations.
