Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
1996-8-9
pubmed:abstractText
Human evolution exhibits repeated speciations and conspicuous morphological change: from Australopithecus to Homo habilis, H. erectus, and H. sapiens; and from their hominoid ancestor to orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans. Theories of founder-event speciation propose that speciation often occurs as a consequence of population bottlenecks, down to one or very few individual pairs. Proponents of punctuated equilibrium claim in addition that founder-event speciation results in rapid morphological change. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) consists of several very polymorphic gene loci. The genealogy of 19 human alleles of the DQB1 locus coalesces more than 30 million years ago, before the divergence of apes and Old World monkeys. Many human alleles are more closely related to pongid and cercopithecoid alleles than to other human alleles. Using the theory of gene coalescence, we estimate that these polymorphisms require human populations of the order of N = 100,000 individuals for the last several million years. This conclusion is confirmed by computer simulations showing the rate of decay of the polymorphisms over time. Computer simulations indicate, in addition, that in human evolution no bottlenecks have occurred with fewer than several thousand individuals. We evaluate studies of mtDNA, Y-chromosome, and microsatellite autosomal polymorphisms and conclude that they are consistent with the MHC result that no narrow population bottlenecks have occurred in human evolution. The available molecular information favors a recent African origin of modern humans, who spread out of Africa approximately 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Feb
pubmed:issn
1055-7903
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
5
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
188-201
pubmed:dateRevised
2011-11-17
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:8673287-Africa, pubmed-meshheading:8673287-Alleles, pubmed-meshheading:8673287-Animals, pubmed-meshheading:8673287-Computer Simulation, pubmed-meshheading:8673287-DNA, Mitochondrial, pubmed-meshheading:8673287-Evolution, Molecular, pubmed-meshheading:8673287-Exons, pubmed-meshheading:8673287-Female, pubmed-meshheading:8673287-Genetics, Population, pubmed-meshheading:8673287-HLA-DQ Antigens, pubmed-meshheading:8673287-HLA-DQ beta-Chains, pubmed-meshheading:8673287-Haplorhini, pubmed-meshheading:8673287-Hominidae, pubmed-meshheading:8673287-Humans, pubmed-meshheading:8673287-Male, pubmed-meshheading:8673287-Models, Genetic, pubmed-meshheading:8673287-Polymorphism, Genetic, pubmed-meshheading:8673287-Primates, pubmed-meshheading:8673287-Time Factors, pubmed-meshheading:8673287-Y Chromosome
pubmed:year
1996
pubmed:articleTitle
The evolution of human populations: a molecular perspective.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine 92717, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.