EEB 2202 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Acclimatization, Homeostasis, Directional Selection

• School: UConn
• Department: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
• Course: EEB 2202
• Professor: Carl Schlichting

Document Summary

Differences among human populations: plenty of evidence that phenotypes vary among populations, two types of genomic data that can provide evidence to natural selection, data on levels of heterozygosity, data on levels of population divergence. Heterozygosity: decreasing variation leads to decreasing heterozygosity, loosing alleles = less heterozygotes in population, loss of unexpected heterozygosity in section of the genome is indicative of a selection event. Evidence for selection on skin color: heterozygosity in 4 human populations, nigeria, chinese han, japanese, european, no variation in slcs4a5 (a skin color gene) in european populations, evidence that this gene is a sight of selection. Natural selection and disease: variation among human populations for disease prevalence, malaria is the strongest known force for evolutionary selection in the recent history of the human genome. Caused by a group of parasites in the genus plasmodium. Mainly due to 4 species of plasmodium. Alternating high fevers and shaking chills, flu-like symptoms, anemia.