Explaining human uniqueness: genome interactions with environment, behaviour and culture.
What makes us human? Specialists in each discipline respond through the lens of their own expertise. In fact, 'anthropogeny' (explaining the origin of humans) requires a transdisciplinary approach that eschews such barriers. Here we take a genomic and genetic perspective towards molecular variation, explore systems analysis of gene expression and discuss an organ-systems approach. Rejecting any 'genes versus environment' dichotomy, we then consider genome interactions with environment, behaviour and culture, finally speculating that aspects of human uniqueness arose because of a primate evolutionary trend towards increasing and irreversible dependence on learned behaviours and culture - perhaps relaxing allowable thresholds for large-scale genomic diversity.
Varki
Ajit
A
Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA. a1varki@ucsd.edu
Geschwind
Daniel H
DH
Eichler
Evan E
EE
D000818:Animals; D001519:Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D002877:Chromosomes, Human; D003469:Culture; D004777:Environment; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks / Q000502:physiology; D049810:Genetic Speciation; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000502:physiology; D015894:Genome, Human / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008954:Models, Biological; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics