评论"正在进行的ASPM的适应性进化,这是Homo sapiens的大脑大小决定因素"
Fuli Yu1, R Sean Hill, Stephen F Schaffner
1Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, New Research Building, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
概括
与小头症相关的ASPM基因可能没有经历自然选择. 经验性比较表明,它的变化并不罕见,挑战了基于模拟的先前发现.
科学领域:
- 人类遗传学 人类遗传学
- 进化生物学是进化生物学.
- 人口遗传学 人口遗传学
背景情况:
- ASPM基因与小头症有关,这种疾病的特征是异常小的大脑.
- 以前的研究表明,ASPM在过去14,100年内在人类中经历了自然选择.
研究的目的:
- 重新评估对自然选择作用于ASPM基因的证据.
- 将ASPM的变异模式与其他遗传位点进行比较.
主要方法:
- 对ASPM变异与其他基因 (位置) 的大量数据集进行实证比较.
- 对遗传变异模式的分析.
- 与之前基于模拟的分析进行对比.
主要成果:
- ASPM的变异模式,当与其他许多位点经验性比较时,并不罕见.
- 经验数据不支持ASPM最近自然选择的假设.
结论:
- 以往基于模拟的ASPM自然选择的结论可能是不准确的.
- 需要进一步的研究,以了解与大脑发育相关的基因的进化历史.
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