Ecological and Phylogenetic Significance of AFLP DNA Diversity in 4 Species of Blind Subterranean Mole Rats (Spalax) in IsraelEl Sigificado EcolÓGico Y FilogenÉTico De Diversidad De Aflp En El De 4 Especies S Palax En Israel

This chapter analyzes the transition of the hominins from the Middle Pleistocene to the Late Pleistocene. Two alternative models are explored, the “Multiregional Hypothesis” (MH) and the “Replacement Hypothesis,” and how each model evaluates the existing relationships between the taxa Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens. Next is the investigation of the transitional (or “archaic,” if this grade is taken into account) exemplars found in Europe, Africa, and Asia and their evolutionary significance. In particular, the comparison between H. erectus and H. sapiens in China and Java is investigated, as the main foundation of the MH. The chapter ends with the surprising discovery of Homo floresiensis and its description and interpretations concerning its taxonomic and phylogenetic significance. The correlation between brain development and technological progress is at odds with the attribution of perforators, microblades, and fishing hooks to a hominin with a small cranial volume, similar to that of Australopithecus afarensis.

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Low Nucleotide Diversity in Chimpanzees and Bonobos

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/164.4.1511 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 164 (4) ◽

pp. 1511-1518 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ning Yu ◽

Michael I Jensen-Seaman ◽

Leona Chemnick ◽

Judith R Kidd ◽

Amos S Deinard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nucleotide Diversity ◽

Nuclear Dna ◽

Demographic History ◽

Nuclear Genome ◽

Limited Data ◽

Effective Population ◽

East Central ◽

Dna Diversity ◽

History Of ◽

Mtdna Diversity

Abstract Comparison of the levels of nucleotide diversity in humans and apes may provide much insight into the mechanisms of maintenance of DNA polymorphism and the demographic history of these organisms. In the past, abundant mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphism data indicated that nucleotide diversity (π) is more than threefold higher in chimpanzees than in humans. Furthermore, it has recently been claimed, on the basis of limited data, that this is also true for nuclear DNA. In this study we sequenced 50 noncoding, nonrepetitive DNA segments randomly chosen from the nuclear genome in 9 bonobos and 17 chimpanzees. Surprisingly, the π value for bonobos is only 0.078%, even somewhat lower than that (0.088%) for humans for the same 50 segments. The π values are 0.092, 0.130, and 0.082% for East, Central, and West African chimpanzees, respectively, and 0.132% for all chimpanzees. These values are similar to or at most only 1.5 times higher than that for humans. The much larger difference in mtDNA diversity than in nuclear DNA diversity between humans and chimpanzees is puzzling. We speculate that it is due mainly to a reduction in effective population size (Ne) in the human lineage after the human-chimpanzee divergence, because a reduction in Ne has a stronger effect on mtDNA diversity than on nuclear DNA diversity.

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