Evolutionary Adaptations to Dietary Changes

Through cultural innovation and changes in habitat and ecology, there have been a number of major dietary shifts in human evolution, including meat eating, cooking, and those associated with plant and animal domestication. The identification of signatures of adaptations to such dietary changes in th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of nutrition 2010-08, Vol.30 (1), p.291-314
Main Authors: Luca, F, Perry, G.H, Di Rienzo, A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
adaptation
Adaptation, Physiological - genetics
Adaptation, Physiological - physiology
agricultural history
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Evolution
cooking
Culture
Diet
dietary changes
digestion
Ecosystem
Feeding. Feeding behavior
food choices
foodways
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
genes
genetic polymorphism
Genetic Variation
Genome
Hominidae - genetics
Humans
literature reviews
metabolic diseases
natural selection
Nutritional Physiological Phenomena - genetics
Nutritional Physiological Phenomena - physiology
Selection, Genetic
taste
Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems
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Summary:Through cultural innovation and changes in habitat and ecology, there have been a number of major dietary shifts in human evolution, including meat eating, cooking, and those associated with plant and animal domestication. The identification of signatures of adaptations to such dietary changes in the genome of extant primates (including humans) may shed light not only on the evolutionary history of our species, but also on the mechanisms that underlie common metabolic diseases in modern human populations. In this review, we provide a brief overview of the major dietary shifts that occurred during hominin evolution, and we discuss the methods and approaches used to identify signals of natural selection in patterns of sequence variation. We then review the results of studies aimed at detecting the genetic loci that played a major role in dietary adaptations and conclude by outlining the potential of future studies in this area.
ISSN:0199-9885
1545-4312
DOI:10.1146/annurev-nutr-080508-141048