title: Genomic signatures of diet-related shifts during human origins.
abstract: There are numerous anthropological analyses concerning the importance of diet during human evolution. Diet is thought to have had a profound influence on the human phenotype, and dietary differences have been hypothesized to contribute to the dramatic morphological changes seen in modern humans as compared with non-human primates. Here, we attempt to integrate the results of new genomic studies within this well-developed anthropological context. We then review the current evidence for adaptation related to diet, both at the level of sequence changes and gene expression. Finally, we propose some ways in which new technologies can help identify specific genomic adaptations that have resulted in metabolic and morphological differences between humans and non-human primates.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA. courtney.babbitt@duke.edu
authors.forename: Courtney C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Babbitt
authors.forename: Lisa R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Warner
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Fedrigo
authors.forename: Christine E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Wall
authors.forename: Gregory A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Wray
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004032:Diet; D015870:Gene Expression; D023281:Genomics; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D011323:Primates / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology