Using mice as models, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology traced some of the differences between humans and chimpanzees to differences in our diet. The findings appear in the January 30 issue of PLoS ONE.
Humans consume a distinct diet compared to other apes. Not only do we consume much more meat and fat, but we also cook our food. It has been hypothesized that adopting these dietary patterns played a key role during human evolution. However, to date, the influence of diet on the physiological and genetic differences between humans and other apes has not been widely examined.
By feeding laboratory mice different human and chimp diets over a mere two week period, researchers at the Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, were able to reconstruct some of the physiological and genetic differences observed between humans and chimpanzees.
The researchers fed laboratory mice one of three diets: a raw fruit and vegetable diet fed to chimpanzees in zoos, a human diet consisting of food served at the Institute cafeteria or a pure fast food menu from the local McDonald's™ (the latter caused the mice to significantly gain weight). The chimpanzee diet was clearly distinct from the two human diets in its effect on the liver - thousands of differences were observed in the levels at which genes were expressed in the mouse livers. No such differences were observed in the mouse brains. A significant fraction of the genes that changed in the mouse livers, had previously been observed as different between humans and chimpanzees. This indicates that the differences observed in these particular genes might be caused by the difference in human and chimpanzee diets.
Furthermore, the diet-related genes also appear to have evolved faster than other genes - protein and promoter sequences of these genes changed faster than expected, possibly because of adaptation to new diets.
Citation: Somel M, Creely H, Franz H, Mueller U, Lachmann M, et al (2008) Human and Chimpanzee Gene Expression Differences Replicated in Mice Fed Different Diets. PLoS ONE 3(1): e1504. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001504 (
http://www.plosone.org/doi/pone.0001504)
Source: Public Library of Science
Related stories:
Study finds B-vitamin deficiency may cause vascular cognitive impairment
A deficiency of B-vitamins may cause vascular cognitive impairment, according to a new study. Researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University used an experimental model to examine the metabolic, cognitive, and microvascular effects of dietary B-vitamin deficiency. Their findings appear in the August 26, 2008 issue of
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
No evidence to support 'organic is best'
New research in the latest issue of the Society of Chemical Industry's (SCI)
Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture shows there is no evidence to support the argument that organic food is better than food grown with the use of pesticides and chemicals
Men and women may need different diets: research
Diet can strongly influence how long you live and your reproductive success, but now scientists have discovered that what works for males can be very different for females.
'Addicted' cells provide early cancer diagnosis
Scientists at the Institute of Food Research have detected subtle changes that may make the bowel more vulnerable to the development of tumours.
Programs succeed in reducing risky sex among HIV-positive minority men
Research has shown that HIV-positive African American and Hispanic men who were sexually abused as children are particularly vulnerable to engaging in high-risk sex and experiencing depressive symptoms. Yet few HIV intervention programs exist to help them.
The good news in our DNA: Defects you can fix with vitamins and minerals
As the cost of sequencing a single human genome drops rapidly, with one company predicting a price of $100 per person in five years, soon the only reason not to look at your "personal genome" will be fear of what bad news lies in your genes.
You are what your mother eats: First evidence that mother's diet influences infant sex
New research by the Universities of Exeter and Oxford provides the first evidence that a child’s sex is associated with the mother’s diet. Published today, in the journal
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, the study shows a clear link between higher energy intake around the time of conception and the birth of sons. The findings may help explain the falling birth-rate of boys in industrialised countries, including the UK and US.
Growth hormone is used to treat twice as many short boys than girls in the US and Asia
Boys are twice as likely as girls in the U.S. and Asia (mostly Japan) to receive recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) for growth hormone deficiency, illnesses that affect height, and short stature of a non-medical nature. A smaller gender difference exists in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, but in the rest of the world short boys and girls are treated at the same rate. This indicates a likely cultural bias for male height in some countries.