title: Evolutionary responses to a constructed niche: ancient Mesoamericans as a model of gene-culture coevolution.
abstract: Culture and genetics rely on two distinct but not isolated transmission systems. Cultural processes may change the human selective environment and thereby affect which individuals survive and reproduce. Here, we evaluated whether the modes of subsistence in Native American populations and the frequencies of the ABCA1*Arg230Cys polymorphism were correlated. Further, we examined whether the evolutionary consequences of the agriculturally constructed niche in Mesoamerica could be considered as a gene-culture coevolution model. For this purpose, we genotyped 229 individuals affiliated with 19 Native American populations and added data for 41 other Native American groups (n = 1905) to the analysis. In combination with the SNP cluster of a neutral region, this dataset was then used to unravel the scenario involved in 230Cys evolutionary history. The estimated age of 230Cys is compatible with its origin occurring in the American continent. The correlation of its frequencies with the archeological data on Zea pollen in Mesoamerica/Central America, the neutral coalescent simulations, and the F(ST)-based natural selection analysis suggest that maize domestication was the driving force in the increase in the frequencies of 230Cys in this region. These results may represent the first example of a gene-culture coevolution involving an autochthonous American allele.
authors: Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors: Tábita
authors: T
authors: Hünemeier
authors: Carlos Eduardo Guerra
authors: CE
authors: Amorim
authors: Soledad
authors: S
authors: Azevedo
authors: Veronica
authors: V
authors: Contini
authors: Víctor
authors: V
authors: Acuña-Alonzo
authors: Francisco
authors: F
authors: Rothhammer
authors: Jean-Michel
authors: JM
authors: Dugoujon
authors: Stephane
authors: S
authors: Mazières
authors: Ramiro
authors: R
authors: Barrantes
authors: María Teresa
authors: MT
authors: Villarreal-Molina
authors: Vanessa Rodrigues
authors: VR
authors: Paixão-Côrtes
authors: Francisco M
authors: FM
authors: Salzano
authors: Samuel
authors: S
authors: Canizales-Quinteros
authors: Andres
authors: A
authors: Ruiz-Linares
authors: Maria Cátira
authors: MC
authors: Bortolini
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000483:Alleles; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003469:Culture; D017753:Ecosystem; D005787:Gene Frequency / Q000235:genetics; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D056426:Genetic Loci / Q000235:genetics; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005838:Genotype; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000235:genetics*; D008954:Models, Biological; D011058:Pollen / Q000254:growth & development; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics; D055110:Radiometric Dating; D012044:Regression Analysis; D003313:Zea mays / Q000254:growth & development