Doctoral Dissertation Research: The effects of past dietary adaptations on modern populations

博士论文研究：过去的饮食适应对现代人群的影响

• 批准号: 1752114
• 负责人: Andrea Wiley
• 金额: $ 1.52万
• 依托单位: Indiana University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-02-01 至 2018-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1752114&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; effects; past

As a biological species, humans continue to adapt genetically to various environments through natural selection. However, cultural and lifestyle changes occur much more rapidly than those biological changes, leading in some cases to a mismatch between our biology and our modern life. This doctoral dissertation project investigates how past differences in the food resources of two populations (foragers vs. agropastoralists) may have led to different genetic adaptations in metabolism, and how those adaptations may relate to modern-day well-being and chronic conditions. The investigator hypothesizes that past genetic adaptations to domesticated foodstuffs could result in fewer chronic health problems when a population transitions to a modern diet and lifestyle. The study will contribute to our understanding of the role of diet in human evolution and adaptation, and its effects on well-being in contemporary populations. Genetic, epidemiological and cultural data from Amerindian individuals, which are crucial for understanding the role of genomic variants in modern well-being among admixed populations, will be shared with participants and stakeholders as well as the scientific community. This investigation will include individuals from underrepresented groups as both research participants and researchers, build and strengthen international research collaborations, and contribute to student training at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Grounded in the literature of human biology, nutritional and molecular anthropology, and evolutionary medicine, the proposed research aims to (1) evaluate whether genomic regions involved in nutrient metabolism have been differentially targeted by selection in two post-nutrition transition Amerindian populations with contrasting histories of subsistence strategies (hunting-gathering vs. agropastoralism) and (2) evaluate whether these signatures are subsistence-specific and correspond to the prevalence of several chronic condition risk biomarkers. The question arises as to whether relatively recent dietary shifts have had evolutionary consequences for human populations, and to what extent these are related to the rise in chronic conditions in post-nutrition transition populations. This study will include two Amerindian populations: one that until recently engaged in hunting-gathering in the temperate forest, and the other that has been long engaged in agropastoralism in a desert environment. The research design will comprise ethnographic fieldwork including oral history interviews, dietary and physical activity surveys, measurements of blood and anthropometric chronic condition risk biomarkers, and genome-wide scans for selection.

作为一个生物物种，人类通过自然选择不断从基因上适应各种环境。然而，文化和生活方式的变化比生物变化发生得更快，在某些情况下导致我们的生物学和现代生活之间的不匹配。该博士论文项目研究了过去两个人群（采集者与农牧民）食物资源的差异如何导致新陈代谢方面的不同遗传适应，以及这些适应如何与现代福祉和慢性病相关。研究人员推测，当人们转向现代饮食和生活方式时，过去对驯化食品的基因适应可能会减少慢性健康问题。 这项研究将有助于我们了解饮食在人类进化和适应中的作用，及其对当代人群福祉的影响。来自美洲印第安人个体的遗传、流行病学和文化数据对于理解基因组变异在现代混合人群福祉中的作用至关重要，这些数据将与参与者、利益相关者以及科学界共享。这项调查将包括来自代表性不足群体的个人作为研究参与者和研究人员，建立和加强国际研究合作，并为研究生和本科生的学生培训做出贡献。基于人类生物学、营养和分子人类学以及进化医学的文献，拟议的研究旨在（1）评估参与营养代谢的基因组区域是否通过在两个具有对比历史的营养转型后美洲印第安人群体中进行选择而被区别对待生存策略（狩猎采集与农牧业）的比较；(2) 评估这些特征是否具有特定的生存能力以及是否与几种慢性病风险的患病率相对应生物标志物。问题是，最近的饮食变化是否对人类产生了进化后果，以及这些变化在多大程度上与营养转型后人群中慢性病的增加有关。这项研究将包括两个美洲印第安人群体：一个直到最近还在温带森林中从事狩猎采集，另一个则长期在沙漠环境中从事农牧业。研究设计将包括民族志实地考察，包括口述历史访谈、饮食和身体活动调查、血液测量和人体测量慢性病风险生物标志物以及用于选择的全基因组扫描。