Class 9/14

Terms: phylogeny, taxonomy, DKPCOFGS, Hominin, Derived Traits, Cladogenesis, Anagenesis,

Parsimony, Alfred Russell Wallace

In other doc

Class 9/16

Terms: Molecular clock, Primitive vs derived traits, Serial founder effect, Ancient DNA

Continued from last class

➢ Parsimony - prefer the simplest explanation

➢ General rule - favor the tree with fewest evolutionary changes
➢ Primitive traits - those inherited unchanged from a common ancestor (not very helpful for
grouping species; ex. Having hair
➢ Derived traits - those that have changed from the ancestral condition (much more helpful
for grouping species)
➢ Molecular clock - steady, clock-like accumulation of DNA differences
○ Initial population - AGTCCCT
○ Mutations accumulate over time
○ End up with 2 (or more) populations with different genetics
➢ Lots of arguments and debate over time about consensus view of human relationship to
apes
➢ Advances in DNA sequencing in 1990’s allow us to make DNA phylogenies
➢ Now we know humans are most closely related to chimps and bonobos
➢ Chimps are more closely related to humans than gorillas

➢
 ➢ Humans have 46 chromosomes while other apes have 48, due to fused chromosome 2 in
humans, we say apes have pairs 2A and 2B
➢ Hominin branch, goes from human-chimp LCA to humans, all of those are hominins
○ Goes from early hominins to australopithecus to homo
➢ Multiregional hypothesis - ancient population divergence, europeans, asians, africans, etc.
➢ From study, observed SMALL differences between groups
➢ Correct model: all humans have African origin (“Out of Africa” replacement model)
➢ Replacement model - little to no genetic contribution from neanderthals or homo erectus
➢ Humans (homo sapiens) originated in Africa ~300k years ago, spread across world
beginning ~100k years ago, ran into neanderthals and others as we went
➢ Early ancient DNA work confirms: neanderthals are not our ancestors
➢ Evidence also confirms there was some interbreeding between neanderthals and certain
human groups
➢ Updated model for homo sapiens origins: recent african origin and replacement, with a
small amount of interbreeding (“admixture”) with other hominins
➢ Humans interbred with at least two other species: neanderthals and denisovans (fossil
DNA evidence supports this), and likely others
➢ Serial Founder Effect - genetic diversity decreases with distance from Africa, reflecting
our roots and expansion
➢ Populations across the globe are very genetically similar
○ 90% of all human alleles can be found within any single population
➢ No biological “races”, variation is continuous, not categorical
➢ Race is a cultural construct, not a biological reality
➢ Chimp populations are more genetically distinct from one another than human
populations are
➢ Today, population DNA differences reflect migration: geographic distance = genetic
difference, but differences are very small
➢ Most population differences are due to drift and mutation
○ Skull shape is an example
➢ Gene flow acts counter to drift and mutation, keeping populations similar
➢ A small amount of human global variation been shaped by natural selection - local
adaptations to local conditions

Class 9/21

➢ Population structure reflects migrations out of Africa, all one continuous gene pool not
separate races
➢ Gene flow makes populations more alike
➢ Drift and mutation makes populations different
➢ Local adaptations - ex. skin color and UV radiation (more near equator)
 ○ UVR is necessary for production of vitamin D
○ Dangerous at high levels: destroys folate, impairs DNA synthesis
➢ Melanin, the pigment that makes skin darker, is a natural sunblock
○ Skin color is determined by how much melanin your skin cells make
➢ Local adaptations - altitude
○ Independently evolved adaptations to thin air
○ Tibetan, andean, and ethiopian plateau are examples
○ Increased hemoglobin concentration in blood in Andean pop., increased resting
ventilation in Tibetan pop.
➢ Lactase Persistence - cultures that depend on milk for food (dairy farming) have evolved
the ability to digest milk as adults
○ Northern europe and east Africa
➢ Arsenic Detoxification
○ Water in the Atacama Desert in Chile naturally has high levels of arsenic
○ Populations has high frequency of an allele that clears arsenic from the body
➢ Larger Spleens
○ The Bajau “sea nomad” population in South Pacific lives largely at sea, adults
dive for food
○ Selection for larger spleens, which hold and release oxygenated red blood cells
when diving
➢ Malaria Resistance
○ Simple farming methods can increase mosquito habitat
○ Many independently evolved adaptations for malaria resistance worldwide
○ Culture can affect biology
○ Used DDT to kill mosquitos, they evolved to survive it, then multiple other drugs
➢ What does DNA tell us about our identity?
○ Tiny genetic differences (due to drift and mutation) reflect recent population
structure
➢ Interbreeding and gene flow are powerful forces in the human species
○ There are no pure populations, we are all from one big mixed gene pool
➢ Ancient DNA from archaeological sites is changing what we know about ancestry
➢ Major, past human migrations documented from ancient DNA from over 20k years ago to
now
➢ Evolution in the public sphere (misuse, mistrust, and misunderstanding)
○ Progress: mistaken belief that evolution produces progress, and that Humans
(some types) are best
○ Eugenics: using evolution to justify racist and anti-poor policies
■ Developed by Francis Galton 1860s-70s
■ US has forced sterilization programs, marriage laws against mixed race
couples, immigration laws 1890s-1978
 ■ Buck v Bell 1927 ruled forced sterilization is legal
■ Germany Nazism 1920s-40s, Holocaust
■ Over 60k forced sterilizations in US in 1900s, predominantly affected
minority populations, still allegations in 2020
■ Now using Polygenic Risk Scores to choose embryos
○ Religion:
■ Science and religion are not fundamentally opposed, plenty of religious
scientists and science-accepting religions
■ But, science requires a skeptical, questioning, testing worldview that is
incompatible with some forms of religious belief
■ Example - young earth creationism
■ Noah’s Ark example: boat not big enough for all animals
○ Creationism is just one example of an Anti-Science movement