From primate to human - study into 60 million years of genetic evolution
August 1, 2007 by Elaine
Filed under Genealogy and DNA, General Genetics and Health, Genetic Engineering, Genetic Future
Researchers from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, led by Dr James Sikela along with colleagues from Stanford University used DNA microarrays containing over 24,000 human genes to perform comparative genomic hybridization experiments.
They compared DNA samples from humans to those of nine other primate species - which first appeared over 60 million years ago: chimpanzee, gorilla, bonobo, orangutan, gibbon, macaque, baboon, marmoset, and lemur. This allowed them to identify specific genes and gene families that, through evolutionary time, have undergone copy number gains and losses.
The authors of the report, which appears online in Genome Research, state speculate how these changes from primate to humans may underlie human traits such as endurance running, higher cognitive function, and susceptibility to genetic disease.
In particular, the human copy number expansion of a gene called AQP7 could explain why humans have evolved the capacity for endurance running. AQP7, or aquaporin 7, plays a role in transporting water and glycerol across membranes. Therefore, it may facilitate the mobilization of glycogen (energy) stores during long periods of intense exercise; it may also play a role in dissipating excess heat through sweating.
This fascinating piece of research starts to unravel the very essence of how we evolved into humans over so many millions of years.
Penny
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