Collaborative Research: Genetic Bases for the Evolution of Human Diet

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One of the most exciting challenges in contemporary science is uncovering the genetic basis for the origin of uniquely human traits. Humans and other great apes are genetically very similar, yet diverse aspects of human anatomy, physiology, and behavior are markedly distinct. Recent technological developments provide the ability to begin identifying the specific genes that underlie these important trait differences. This project will focus on the evolution of human diet. Dietary traits are particularly interesting because the diet of early human ancestors and modern humans differ so markedly from those of the other great apes and because diet affects so many aspects of human health and disease. An interdisciplinary team of anthropologists and human geneticists will integrate genetic, organismal, and ecological information to better understand the genetic basis for the evolution of dietary traits in humans. The primary intellectual goals of this project are to: (1) screen the human genome for relevant genes using two approaches, measuring gene expression across the entire genome from humans and chimpanzees in several tissues of dietary significance using ultra high-throughput sequencing and testing for adaptation in DNA sequences across the entire genome based on patterns of mutation; (2) conduct integrative case studies of diet-related genes implicated in trait changes during human origins through extensive DNA sequence comparisons among great ape species, detailed characterization of gene expression, experimental tests of functional differences, and associations between gene expression and specific dietary traits; and (3) conduct integrative case studies of diet-related genes among modern African human populations that are diverse with respect to diet and local climate, through detailed analyses of genetic variation, tests for natural selection, and genetic associations with specific dietary traits. The broader impacts of this research include: collaborations and resource building with African scientists, recruitment and training of women and minority trainees, education outreach to grade school students, building two novel and informative databases that will be easily accessible through the web, and developing software for comparative analysis of primate genome sequences and gene expression.