Population-specific, recent positive directional selection suggests adaptation of human male reproductive genes to different environmental conditions

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Abstract

Recent human transcriptomic analyses revealed a very large number of testis-enriched genes, many of which are involved in spermatogenesis. This comprehensive transcriptomic data lead us to the question whether positive selection was a decisive force influencing the evolution and variability of testis-enriched genes in humans. We used two methodological approaches to detect different levels of positive selection, namely episodic positive diversifying selection (i.e., past selection) in the human lineage within primate phylogeny, potentially driven by sperm competition, and recent positive directional selection in contemporary human populations, which would indicate adaptation to different environments.
Original languageEnglish
Article number27
Number of pages11
JournalBMC Evolutionary Biology
Volume20
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Feb 2020

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

  • 106051 Behavioural biology

Keywords

  • ADAPTIVE EVOLUTION
  • ASSOCIATION
  • EXPRESSION
  • FERTILIZATION
  • Genetic adaption
  • HUMAN TESTIS
  • Human testis-enriched genes
  • MOTILITY
  • Male reproductive genes
  • PROTEIN
  • Positive selection
  • RAPID EVOLUTION
  • SPERM COMPETITION
  • SYSTEM

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