Comment on "Ongoing Adaptive Evolution of ASPM, a Brain Size Determinant in Homo Sapiens" and "Microcephalin, a Gene Regulating Brain Size, Continues to Evolve Adaptively in Humans"

Overview

Journal Science

Specialty Science

Date 2006 Jul 15

PMID 16840683

Citations 44

Authors

Mathias Currat

Laurent Excoffier

Wayne Maddison

Sarah P Otto

Nicolas Ray

Michael C Whitlock

Sam Yeaman

Affiliations

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Abstract

Mekel-Bobrov et al. and Evans et al. (Reports, 9 Sept. 2005, p. 1720 and p. 1717, respectively) examined sequence data from modern humans within two gene regions associated with brain development, ASPM and microcephalin, and concluded that selection of these genes must be ongoing. We show that models of human history that include both population growth and spatial structure can generate the observed patterns without selection.

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