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Limits to Natural Selection01:38

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Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...
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Related Experiment Video

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Dissecting the Non-human Primate Brain in Stereotaxic Space
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Natural Selection in the Great Apes.

Alexander Cagan1, Christoph Theunert1,2, Hafid Laayouni3,4

  • 1Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.

Molecular Biology and Evolution
|November 1, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Natural selection drives adaptation in humans and great apes. Population size influences the efficiency of removing harmful alleles and adapting to new environments, impacting evolution across Hominidae species.

Keywords:
adaptationcomparative genomicsevolutionprimates.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Genomics
  • Primate evolution

Background:

  • Natural selection is a key mechanism for population adaptation.
  • Understanding selection in Hominidae (humans and great apes) provides insights into human evolution.
  • Genome-wide data offers a powerful tool for studying selection across species.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To conduct the first global study of natural selection across all Hominidae species using genome-wide data.
  • To create a comprehensive map of natural selection signatures in humans and great apes.
  • To investigate the relationship between population size and selection efficiency.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized genome-wide data from population samples of all extant Hominidae species.
  • Applied multiple neutrality tests to identify signatures of natural selection.
  • Correlated selection efficiency with long-term effective population size.

Main Results:

  • Efficiency of purifying and positive selection varies significantly across Hominidae species.
  • Selection efficiency is strongly correlated with long-term effective population size.
  • Identified species-specific signatures of balancing and positive selection, with some shared across lineages.
  • Detected positive selection in genes related to brain function, anatomy, diet, and immunity.

Conclusions:

  • Even small differences in population size among Hominidae lineages affect their ability to remove deleterious alleles and adapt.
  • The study provides a global map of natural selection in our closest living relatives, contextualizing human evolution.
  • The findings highlight the role of natural selection in shaping key traits in Hominidae.