Can fat explain the human brain's big bang evolution?—Horrobin's leads for comparative and functional genomics
When David Horrobin suggested that phospholipid and fatty acid metabolism played a major role in human evolution, his ‘fat utilization hypothesis’ unified intriguing work from paleoanthropology, evolutionary biology, genetic and nervous system research in a novel and coherent lipid-related context....
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Published in | Prostaglandins, leukotrienes and essential fatty acids Vol. 70; no. 4; pp. 345 - 347 |
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Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Kidlington
Elsevier Ltd
01.04.2004
Elsevier |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | When David Horrobin suggested that phospholipid and fatty acid metabolism played a major role in human evolution, his ‘fat utilization hypothesis’ unified intriguing work from paleoanthropology, evolutionary biology, genetic and nervous system research in a novel and coherent lipid-related context. Interestingly, unlike most other evolutionary concepts, the hypothesis allows specific predictions which can be empirically tested in the near future. This paper summarizes some of Horrobin's intriguing propositions and suggests as to how approaches of comparative genomics published in
Cell, Nature, Science and elsewhere since 1997 may be used to examine his evolutionary hypothesis. Indeed, systematic investigations of the genomic clock in the species’ mitochondrial DNA, the Y and autosomal chomosomes as evidence of evolutionary relationships and distinctions can help to scrutinize associated predictions for their validity, namely that key mutations which differentiate us from Neanderthals and from great apes are in the genes coding for proteins which regulate fat metabolism, and particularly the phospholipid metabolism of the synapses of the brain. It is concluded that beyond clues to humans’ relationships with living primates and to the Neanderthals’ cognitive performance and their disappearance, the suggested molecular clock analyses may provide crucial insights into the biochemical evolution—and means of possible manipulation—of our brain. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0952-3278 1532-2823 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.plefa.2003.12.008 |