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Colloquium papers: Natural selection in a contemporary human population.

ABSTRACT: Our aims were to demonstrate that natural selection is operating on contemporary humans, predict future evolutionary change for specific traits with medical significance, and show that for some traits we can make short-term predictions about our future evolution. To do so, we measured the strength of selection, estimated genetic variation and covariation, and predicted the response to selection for women in the Framingham Heart Study, a project of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and Boston University that began in 1948. We found that natural selection is acting to cause slow, gradual evolutionary change. The descendants of these women are predicted to be on average slightly shorter and stouter, to have lower total cholesterol levels and systolic blood pressure, to have their first child earlier, and to reach menopause later than they would in the absence of evolution. Selection is tending to lengthen the reproductive period at both ends. To better understand and predict such changes, the design of planned large, long-term, multicohort studies should include input from evolutionary biologists.

SUBMITTER: Byars SG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2868295 | biostudies-other | 2010 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Evidence for evolution in response to natural selection in a contemporary human population.

Project description:It is often claimed that modern humans have stopped evolving because cultural and technological advancements have annihilated natural selection. In contrast, recent studies show that selection can be strong in contemporary populations. However, detecting a response to selection is particularly challenging; previous evidence from wild animals has been criticized for both applying anticonservative statistical tests and failing to consider random genetic drift. Here we study life-history variation in an insular preindustrial French-Canadian population and apply a recently proposed conservative approach to testing microevolutionary responses to selection. As reported for other such societies, natural selection favored an earlier age at first reproduction (AFR) among women. AFR was also highly heritable and genetically correlated to fitness, predicting a microevolutionary change toward earlier reproduction. In agreement with this prediction, AFR declined from about 26-22 y over a 140-y period. Crucially, we uncovered a substantial change in the breeding values for this trait, indicating that the change in AFR largely occurred at the genetic level. Moreover, the genetic trend was higher than expected under the effect of random genetic drift alone. Our results show that microevolution can be detectable over relatively few generations in humans and underscore the need for studies of human demography and reproductive ecology to consider the role of evolutionary processes.

| S-EPMC3193187 | biostudies-literature

Natural and sexual selection in a monogamous historical human population.

Project description:Whether and how human populations exposed to the agricultural revolution are still affected by Darwinian selection remains controversial among social scientists, biologists, and the general public. Although methods of studying selection in natural populations are well established, our understanding of selection in humans has been limited by the availability of suitable datasets. Here, we present a study comparing the maximum strengths of natural and sexual selection in humans that includes the effects of sex and wealth on different episodes of selection. Our dataset was compiled from church records of preindustrial Finnish populations characterized by socially imposed monogamy, and it contains a complete distribution of survival, mating, and reproductive success for 5,923 individuals born 1760-1849. Individual differences in early survival and fertility (natural selection) were responsible for most variation in fitness, even among wealthier individuals. Variance in mating success explained most of the higher variance in reproductive success in males compared with females, but mating success also influenced reproductive success in females, allowing for sexual selection to operate in both sexes. The detected opportunity for selection is in line with measurements for other species but higher than most previous reports for human samples. This disparity results from biological, demographic, economic, and social differences across populations as well as from failures by most previous studies to account for variation in fitness introduced by nonreproductive individuals. Our results emphasize that the demographic, cultural, and technological changes of the last 10,000 y did not preclude the potential for natural and sexual selection in our species.

| S-EPMC3361384 | biostudies-literature

Molecular and population analysis of natural selection on the human haptoglobin duplication.

Project description:Haptoglobin binds free haemoglobin that prevents oxidative damage produced by haemolysis. There is a copy number variant (CNV) in the haptoglobin gene (HP) consisting of two alleles, Hp1 (no duplication), and Hp2 (1.7kb duplication involving two exons). The spread of the Hp2 allele is believed to have taken place under selective pressures conferred by malaria resistance. However, molecular evidence is lacking and Hp did not emerge in genomewide SNPs surveys for evidence of selection. In Europe, there is geographical constancy of Hp2 frequency, indicative of absence of clinal pressures and that modern day European alleles represent a "snapshot" of their out-of-Africa migrations. In this work we test for signatures of natural selection acting on the Hp CNV in a sample from the UK population (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, ALSPAC). We present here heterozygosity decay, pairwise F(ST) values observed between ALSPAC and 301 populations from all five populated continents, extended haplotype homozygosity analyses involving the CNV and 80 SNPs surrounding the CNV ~500kb in each direction, and linkage disequilibrium and pairwise haplotypic analyses involving 160 SNPs on chromosome 16q22.1. Taken together, our results represent the first molecular analysis of natural selection in the Hp CNV genetic region.

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Contemporary selection on MHC genes in a free-living ruminant population.

Project description:Genes within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are the most variable identified in vertebrates. Pathogen-mediated selection is believed to be the main force maintaining MHC diversity. However, relatively few studies have demonstrated contemporary selection on MHC genes. Here, we examine associations between MHC variation and several fitness measurements including total fitness and five fitness components, in 3400 wild Soay sheep (Ovis aries) monitored between 1989 and 2012. In terms of total fitness, measured as lifetime breeding success of all individuals born, we found haplotypes named C and D were associated with decreased and increased male total fitness respectively. In terms of fitness components, juvenile survival was associated with haplotype divergence while individual haplotypes (C, D and F) were associated with adult fitness components. Consistent with the increased male total fitness, the rarest haplotype D has increased in frequency throughout the study period more than expected under neutral expectations. Our results demonstrate that contemporary natural selection is acting on MHC class II genes in Soay sheep and that the mode of selection on specific fitness components can be different mode from selection on total fitness.

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Eco-evolutionary dynamics in a contemporary human population.

Project description:Recent studies of the joint dynamics of ecological and evolutionary processes show that changes in genotype or phenotype distributions can affect population, community and ecosystem processes. Such eco-evolutionary dynamics are likely to occur in modern humans and may influence population dynamics. Here, we study contributions to population growth from detailed genealogical records of a contemporary human population. We show that evolutionary changes in women's age at first reproduction can affect population growth: 15.9% of variation in individual contribution to population growth over 108 years is explained by mean age at first reproduction and at least one-third of this variation (6.1%) is attributed to the genetic basis of this trait, which showed an evolutionary response to selection during the period studied. Our study suggests that eco-evolutionary processes have modulated the growth of contemporary human populations.

| S-EPMC5500883 | biostudies-literature

Genetic Ancestry and Natural Selection Drive Population Differences in Immune Responses to Pathogens

Project description:Individuals from different populations vary considerably in their susceptibility to immune-related diseases. To understand how genetic variation and natural selection contribute to these differences, we tested for the effects of African versus European ancestry on the transcriptional response of primary macrophages to live bacterial pathogens. A total of 9.3% of macrophage-expressed genes show ancestry-associated differences in the gene regulatory response to infection, and African ancestry specifically predicts a stronger inflammatory response and reduced intracellular bacterial growth. A large proportion of these differences are under genetic control: for 804 genes, more than 75% of ancestry effects on the immune response can be explained by a single cis- or trans-acting expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL). Finally, we show that genetic effects on the immune response are strongly enriched for recent, population-specific signatures of adaptation. Together, our results demonstrate how historical selective events continue to shape human phenotypic diversity today, including for traits that are key to controlling infection.

2019-08-29 | GSE136566 | GEO

Parasite-mediated disruptive selection in a natural Daphnia population.

Project description:BackgroundA mismatch has emerged between models and data of host-parasite evolution. Theory readily predicts that parasites can promote host diversity through mechanisms such as disruptive selection. Yet, despite these predictions, empirical evidence for parasite-mediated increases in host diversity remains surprisingly scant.ResultsHere, we document parasite-mediated disruptive selection on a natural Daphnia population during a parasite epidemic. The mean susceptibility of clones collected from the population before and after the epidemic did not differ, but clonal variance and broad-sense heritability of post-epidemic clones were significantly greater, indicating disruptive selection and rapid evolution. A maximum likelihood method that we developed for detecting selection on natural populations also suggests disruptive selection during the epidemic: the distribution of susceptibilities in the population shifted from unimodal prior to the epidemic to bimodal after the epidemic. Interestingly, this same bimodal distribution was retained after a generation of sexual reproduction.ConclusionThese results provide rare empirical support for parasite-driven increases in host genetic diversity, and suggest that this increase can occur rapidly.

| S-EPMC2276202 | biostudies-literature

Genetic ancestry and natural selection drive population differences in immune responses to pathogens in humans

Project description:Individuals from different populations vary considerably in their susceptibility to immune-related diseases. To understand how genetic variation and natural selection contribute to these differences, we tested for the effects of African versus European ancestry on the transcriptional response of primary macrophages to live bacterial pathogens. 12% of macrophage-expressed genes show ancestry-associated differences in the gene regulatory response to infection, and African ancestry specifically predicts a stronger inflammatory response and reduced intracellular bacterial growth. A large proportion of these differences are under genetic control: for 569 genes, more than 75% of ancestry effects on the immune response can be explained by a single cis- or trans-acting eQTL. Finally, we show that genetic effects on the immune response are strongly enriched for recent, population-specific signatures of adaptation. Together, our results demonstrate how historical selective events continue to shape human phenotypic diversity today, including for traits that are central to coping with infection. Transcriptomic profiles of 503 infected (Listeria and Salmonella) and non-infected samples at 2hr time point.

2016-09-06 | E-GEOD-81046 | biostudies-arrayexpress

Genetic ancestry and natural selection drive population differences in immune responses to pathogens in humans

Project description:Individuals from different populations vary considerably in their susceptibility to immune-related diseases. To understand how genetic variation and natural selection contribute to these differences, we tested for the effects of African versus European ancestry on the transcriptional response of primary macrophages to live bacterial pathogens. 12% of macrophage-expressed genes show ancestry-associated differences in the gene regulatory response to infection, and African ancestry specifically predicts a stronger inflammatory response and reduced intracellular bacterial growth. A large proportion of these differences are under genetic control: for 569 genes, more than 75% of ancestry effects on the immune response can be explained by a single cis- or trans-acting eQTL. Finally, we show that genetic effects on the immune response are strongly enriched for recent, population-specific signatures of adaptation. Together, our results demonstrate how historical selective events continue to shape human phenotypic diversity today, including for traits that are central to coping with infection.

2016-09-06 | GSE81046 | GEO

Natural selection and infectious disease in human populations.

Project description:The ancient biological 'arms race' between microbial pathogens and humans has shaped genetic variation in modern populations, and this has important implications for the growing field of medical genomics. As humans migrated throughout the world, populations encountered distinct pathogens, and natural selection increased the prevalence of alleles that are advantageous in the new ecosystems in both host and pathogens. This ancient history now influences human infectious disease susceptibility and microbiome homeostasis, and contributes to common diseases that show geographical disparities, such as autoimmune and metabolic disorders. Using new high-throughput technologies, analytical methods and expanding public data resources, the investigation of natural selection is leading to new insights into the function and dysfunction of human biology.

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