Integration and evolution of human and non-human primate postcranial morphology

人类和非人灵长类颅后形态的整合和进化

• 批准号: 0962903
• 负责人: Charles Roseman
• 金额: $ 14.98万
• 依托单位: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-06-01 至 2014-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0962903&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Integration; evolution; human; non; primate

The skeleton of the limbs and body plays an important role in locomotion, but the patterns of relationships among different aspect of bone shape (their integration) and the genes that affect these relationships remain poorly understood. This study develops a better understanding of how patterns of integration correspond to variation in primate movement and how genes affect the ways in which skeletal traits are integrated with one another. The research compares bone morphology among a large number of primate species to test the hypothesis that integration in the limbs is the result of adaptation by natural selection in response to the different performance requirements that species encounter. It uses a similar comparative approach to test hypotheses about whether patterns of integration structured or were structured by adaptive evolutionary shifts in response to selection on locomotor behavior. In order for bones to evolve, there must be genetic variation in bone shape and size, but there is little know about which genes are involved in producing this variation in normal, healthy organisms. This project uses a very large population of mice to relate aspects of bone shape and size to specific regions of the genome. Comparisons between the patterns of integration in mice and primates, including humans, will then help guide future investigations into what role these genes have had in the evolution and development of human skeletal morphology. At a practical level, understanding how humans differ from our closest evolutionary relatives in skeletal patterns of integration will aid future studies of many physical health problems, such as back pain and bad knees, which are directly attributable to our unique morphology. Understanding the genetic basis of bone size and shape in the mouse will help guide future investigations into the development and hereditary basis of diseases that affect the skeleton. Understanding how the integration of bones varies across primates, including humans, will provide a fresh perspective on how these differences have evolved. This is particularly important when considering the origins of humans' unique, bipedal mode of locomotion. Additionally, the understanding of the genetics of bone shape will be very informative for continuing investigations into the links between development and the evolution of organismal form. This research will afford many students, including a substantial number from underrepresented groups, with hands-on research experience in a way that will help them be able to synthesize a new understanding of how organisms develop and evolve. Furthermore, students will receive training in state of the art morphometric scientific imaging, and statistical computing technologies and methods. This will allow them eventually to pursue fruitful independent research programs in any of several biomedical fields. Public understanding of science will be aided by the production of a large number of digital representations of bones that can help students at many educational levels visualize biological variation.

四肢和身体的骨骼在运动中起着重要的作用，但骨骼形状（它们的整合）的不同方面之间的关系模式和影响这些关系的基因仍然知之甚少。这项研究开发了一个更好的理解整合模式如何对应于灵长类动物运动的变化，以及基因如何影响骨骼特征相互整合的方式。 该研究比较了大量灵长类动物物种的骨骼形态，以验证这一假设，即肢体的整合是自然选择适应物种遇到的不同性能要求的结果。它使用了类似的比较方法来测试的整合模式是否结构化或结构化的自适应进化转变，以响应选择的运动行为的假设。 为了骨骼的进化，骨骼的形状和大小必须有遗传变异，但是对于在正常健康的生物体中产生这种变异的基因所知甚少。 该项目使用了大量的小鼠，将骨骼的形状和大小与基因组的特定区域联系起来。小鼠和灵长类动物（包括人类）的整合模式之间的比较将有助于指导未来的研究，以了解这些基因在人类骨骼形态的进化和发育中所起的作用。在实践层面上，了解人类在骨骼整合模式方面与我们最接近的进化亲属的差异将有助于未来对许多身体健康问题的研究，例如背痛和膝盖不好，这些问题直接归因于我们独特的形态。 了解小鼠骨骼大小和形状的遗传基础将有助于指导未来对影响骨骼的疾病的发展和遗传基础的研究。了解骨骼的整合在包括人类在内的灵长类动物中是如何变化的，将为这些差异是如何进化的提供一个新的视角。当考虑到人类独特的两足运动模式的起源时，这一点尤其重要。此外，了解骨骼形状的遗传学将为继续研究生物体形态的发育和进化之间的联系提供非常丰富的信息。这项研究将为许多学生，包括来自代表性不足的群体的大量学生，提供实践研究经验，以帮助他们能够综合对生物体如何发展和进化的新认识。此外，学生将接受最先进的形态测量科学成像，统计计算技术和方法的培训。这将使他们最终能够在任何几个生物医学领域进行富有成效的独立研究项目。 公众对科学的理解将通过制作大量的骨骼数字表示来帮助，这些数字表示可以帮助许多教育水平的学生可视化生物变异。