Research relevance of recent human evolution

Research Relevance of Recent Human Kenneth

K Kidd,

Evolution

Ph D

Professor of Genetics and Psychiatry Yale Univerwy

School of hledicine

One goal of the Human human genome,” DNA

Genome

Project is to obtain “a representative

not, as often misstated,

sequence variation

to obtain “the sequence

sequence of the

of the human genome ” Since

IS normal and extensive, there is no single sequence that is the only or

correct sequence of the human genome

Essentially

ever) mdividual

bas recwed

a zompletrly

unique DNA

sequence m the genetic material

from his/her mother

and a separate, completely

umque DNA

sequence m the genetic material

from his/her father

Yet, at any single site there arc

usually only two dltTerent forms, two alleles, found in our entire species frequency

vanation

for those alleles is the result of how modern

The global pattern of

humans evolved and diverged

as

they spread around the world Evidence

strongly

suggests that n.x-African

descended from a small group of Afncans ago

As a result, DNA

wtually

non-African

variation

at any specific site in the genome uill but at different

lmphcarions

Knowing

m and around

at COMT

probably

variation

population

is important

genetics ofthe by examples

consider the population

are two examples

for etiology

probably

normal

but functionally

by those markers

for design ofexperiments

genetics of tbr candidate genes bang

Even the non-functional ofthe

the

population

of results. as will be

conclusions studwd

the

and for pharmacologic

Knowledge

and mtcrprctatlun

of recent papers that reached erroneous

relevant

Understandmy

markers useful for rescarcb and for understandmg

genes encompassed

an

Expressed

around the world dwrders

ext

in any one

1s helping us interpret

of such vanation,

of neuropsychiatric

species that

100.000 years

if It IS common

mterert

for human genetics in the cum~ng )ears

because it provides

genetics of a gene is critical illustrated

eolution

at most loci and in all populations

therapy represents a challenge variation

thus pattern ofrecent

frequencies.

lmany genes of neuropsychlatric

and DRD4

ex~s

ofthat

only about

around the HorId.

population

polymorphisms

out of Afnca

sequence variation

all populations

sequence variation

humans represent a branch ofour

wtw migrated

because of failure to