Teeth are one of the most important materials for anthropological studies because they are likely to be preserved in ancient remains.While the frequencies of dental characteristics can provide clues to the phylogeny o...Teeth are one of the most important materials for anthropological studies because they are likely to be preserved in ancient remains.While the frequencies of dental characteristics can provide clues to the phylogeny of populations,genetic studies at the individual level can further reveal the biological mechanisms and evolutionary context of dental characteristics.In this study,by analyzing 38 dental characteristics of 242 Xinjiang Uyghur individuals,we found that(i)the dental characteristics of the Uyghurs showed evidence of admixture between European and East Asian populations.The admixture proportions were in line with those previously reported in population genetic studies;(ii)the Xinjiang Uyghur dental characteristics formed three clusters in pairwise correlation analysis.One of the main clusters consisted of characteristics including incisor shoveling,double shoveling and mesial ridge;and(iii)all the characteristics in this cluster were significantly correlated with the genetic variant EDARV370A.The extracted composite phenotypic factor was also significantly associated with EDARV370A,which explained 18%of the total phenotypic variance.This indicated a pleiotropic effect,i.e.,the same genetic factor affects a number of dental characteristics at the same time.Our results confirmed that EDARV370A,a genetic variant that first originated in East Asia about 30000 years ago,played an important role in incisor shoveling in East Asia.This finding suggested that incisor shoveling in modern humans in East Asia is likely to have appeared after the late Pleistocene.展开更多
Aims Understanding the patterns and drivers of carbon isotope discrimination(13Δ)in C_(3)and C_(4)functional groups is critical for predicting C_(3)/C_(4)vegetation ratio from the isotopic composition of soil organic...Aims Understanding the patterns and drivers of carbon isotope discrimination(13Δ)in C_(3)and C_(4)functional groups is critical for predicting C_(3)/C_(4)vegetation ratio from the isotopic composition of soil organic matter.In this study,we aimed to evaluate how intraspecific variation will modify functional group-level 13Δvalues and the associated prediction of C_(3)/C_(4)vegetation ratio.Methods We investigated 13Δof 726 individual plants(96 species;C_(3)and C_(4)functional groups)and topsoil organic matter in 26 grassland communities along an aridity gradient in northern China.The fraction of C_(4)contribution was calculated with mixing models that considered:(i)both intra-and interspecific effects on the 13Δvalues of C_(3)and C_(4)functional groups;(ii)only interspecific effects;or(iii)none of these effects.Important Findings We found divergent responses of plant 13Δat the intraspecific level to the changes of aridity across the gradient.The 13Δof both C_(3)and C_(4)functional groups was negatively correlated with an aridity index,with higher sensitivity for C_(3)than for C_(4)functional groups.Intraspecific 13Δvariation played a key role in driving the total 13Δvariations of C_(3)plants.Overlooking such intraspecific effect in mixing models led to a greatly increased fraction of C_(4)contribution to soil organic carbon.A correction for the effects of intraspecific variation is therefore essential for correctly inferring C_(3)/C_(4)vegetation ratio in the past.Our findings provide basic information for the reconstruction of past vegetation change from bulk materials in arid and semiarid biomes.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31271338,31071102,31071096,31260263,91331108,31322030)the National Key Technology Research and Development Program(2011BAI09B00)+2 种基金the National High Technology Research and Develop-ment Program of China(2012AA021802)the Ministry of Health(201002007),the Key Project of Ministry of Education(311016)the Philosophy and Social Science Foundation of Shanghai(2010BZH005)
文摘Teeth are one of the most important materials for anthropological studies because they are likely to be preserved in ancient remains.While the frequencies of dental characteristics can provide clues to the phylogeny of populations,genetic studies at the individual level can further reveal the biological mechanisms and evolutionary context of dental characteristics.In this study,by analyzing 38 dental characteristics of 242 Xinjiang Uyghur individuals,we found that(i)the dental characteristics of the Uyghurs showed evidence of admixture between European and East Asian populations.The admixture proportions were in line with those previously reported in population genetic studies;(ii)the Xinjiang Uyghur dental characteristics formed three clusters in pairwise correlation analysis.One of the main clusters consisted of characteristics including incisor shoveling,double shoveling and mesial ridge;and(iii)all the characteristics in this cluster were significantly correlated with the genetic variant EDARV370A.The extracted composite phenotypic factor was also significantly associated with EDARV370A,which explained 18%of the total phenotypic variance.This indicated a pleiotropic effect,i.e.,the same genetic factor affects a number of dental characteristics at the same time.Our results confirmed that EDARV370A,a genetic variant that first originated in East Asia about 30000 years ago,played an important role in incisor shoveling in East Asia.This finding suggested that incisor shoveling in modern humans in East Asia is likely to have appeared after the late Pleistocene.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31971465,31822006,31770503,41807108)National Basic Research Program of China(2016YFC0500601,2016YFC0500700)+1 种基金Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS(201832,2020199)the Key Research Program from CAS(KFZD-SW-305-002).
文摘Aims Understanding the patterns and drivers of carbon isotope discrimination(13Δ)in C_(3)and C_(4)functional groups is critical for predicting C_(3)/C_(4)vegetation ratio from the isotopic composition of soil organic matter.In this study,we aimed to evaluate how intraspecific variation will modify functional group-level 13Δvalues and the associated prediction of C_(3)/C_(4)vegetation ratio.Methods We investigated 13Δof 726 individual plants(96 species;C_(3)and C_(4)functional groups)and topsoil organic matter in 26 grassland communities along an aridity gradient in northern China.The fraction of C_(4)contribution was calculated with mixing models that considered:(i)both intra-and interspecific effects on the 13Δvalues of C_(3)and C_(4)functional groups;(ii)only interspecific effects;or(iii)none of these effects.Important Findings We found divergent responses of plant 13Δat the intraspecific level to the changes of aridity across the gradient.The 13Δof both C_(3)and C_(4)functional groups was negatively correlated with an aridity index,with higher sensitivity for C_(3)than for C_(4)functional groups.Intraspecific 13Δvariation played a key role in driving the total 13Δvariations of C_(3)plants.Overlooking such intraspecific effect in mixing models led to a greatly increased fraction of C_(4)contribution to soil organic carbon.A correction for the effects of intraspecific variation is therefore essential for correctly inferring C_(3)/C_(4)vegetation ratio in the past.Our findings provide basic information for the reconstruction of past vegetation change from bulk materials in arid and semiarid biomes.