A Penile Spine/Vibrissa Enhancer Sequence Is Missing in Modern and Extinct Humans but Is Retained in Multiple Primates with Penile Spines and Sensory Vibrissae

Reno, Philip L.; McLean, Cory Y.; Hines, Jasmine E.; Capellini, Terence D.; Bejerano, Gill; Kingsley, David M.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0084258

Cited by 16 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Unlike the vivid announcement of ovulation by panids and cercopithecines or the special drive seen in female gorillids at the peak of fertility, humans lack either. The unique "simple penis" of humans lacks mechanoreceptors likely to speed ejaculation for successful intercourse (40,41). Human sperm quality is poor, the refractory period for males high, and our sperm midpiece is relatively small.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early hominids may have been weed species

Meindl

Chaney

Lovejoy

2018

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Panid, gorillid, and hominid social structures appear to have diverged as dramatically as did their locomotor patterns as they emerged from a late Miocene last common ancestor (LCA). Despite their elimination of the sectorial canine complex and adoption of bipedality with its attendant removal of their ready access to the arboreal canopy, was able to easily invade novel habitats after florescence from its likely ancestral genus, Ardipithecus sp. Other hominoids, unable to sustain sufficient population growth, began an inexorable decline, culminating in their restriction to modern refugia. Success similar to that of earliest hominids also characterizes several species of macaques, often termed "weed species." We here review their most salient demographic features and find that a key element is irregularly elevated female survival. It is reasonable to conclude that a similar feature characterized early hominids, most likely made possible by the adoption of social monogamy. Reduced female mortality is a more probable key to early hominid success than a reduction in birth space, which would have been physiologically more difficult.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early hominids may have been weed species

Meindl

Chaney

Lovejoy

2018

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…In this framework, identification of molecular signatures in HoxA13 that are common to independently derived limbless lineages would suggest the presence of limb-specific sequence segments in the protein, while no consistent sequence differences between limbed and limbless species suggests that all motifs involved in limb development are also committed to other developmental functions. The conceptual basis underpinning the first prediction relies on evidence that genetic elements dedicated to the development of a particular structure tend to get lost when the corresponding structure is lost in evolution ( Graur and Li, 1999 ), as observed in the loss of pelvic spines in lake morphs of sticklebacks ( Bell, 1987 ) and of penile spines in humans ( Reno et al , 2013 ). In these examples, a dedicated cis-regulatory element has been lost in evolution coincidentally with the loss of the morphological structure, suggesting the existence of sequence modules dedicated to specific developmental processes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular evolution of HoxA13 and the multiple origins of limbless morphologies in amphibians and reptiles

et al. 2015

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Developmental processes and their results, morphological characters, are inherited through transmission of genes regulating development. While there is ample evidence that cis-regulatory elements tend to be modular, with sequence segments dedicated to different roles, the situation for proteins is less clear, being particularly complex for transcription factors with multiple functions. Some motifs mediating protein-protein interactions may be exclusive to particular developmental roles, but it is also possible that motifs are mostly shared among different processes. Here we focus on HoxA13, a protein essential for limb development. We asked whether the HoxA13 amino acid sequence evolved similarly in three limbless clades: Gymnophiona, Amphisbaenia and Serpentes. We explored variation in ω (dN/dS) using a maximum-likelihood framework and HoxA13sequences from 47 species. Comparisons of evolutionary models provided low ω global values and no evidence that HoxA13 experienced relaxed selection in limbless clades. Branch-site models failed to detect evidence for positive selection acting on any site along branches of Amphisbaena and Gymnophiona, while three sites were identified in Serpentes. Examination of alignments did not reveal consistent sequence differences between limbed and limbless species. We conclude that HoxA13 has no modules exclusive to limb development, which may be explained by its involvement in multiple developmental processes.

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“…During human evolution, however, loss of an enhancer sequence situated close to the androgen receptor gene has resulted in the loss of penile spines [Reno et al, 2013]. This regulatory enhancer is an inferred ancestral mammalian feature.…”

Section: Sexual Selection and Penile Spinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Copulatory and Postcopulatory Sexual Selection in Primates

Dixson¹

2018

IJFP

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Many aspects of primate reproductive anatomy and physiology have been influenced by copulatory and postcopulatory sexual selection, especially so in taxa where multiple-partner matings by females result in the sperm of rival males competing for access to a given set of ova (sperm competition). However, the female reproductive system also exerts profound effects upon sperm survival, storage and transport, raising the possibility that female traits influence male reproductive success (via cryptic female choice). Current knowledge of sperm competition and cryptic choice in primates and other mammals is reviewed here. The relevance of these comparative studies to our understanding of human reproduction and evolution is discussed.

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A Penile Spine/Vibrissa Enhancer Sequence Is Missing in Modern and Extinct Humans but Is Retained in Multiple Primates with Penile Spines and Sensory Vibrissae

Cited by 16 publications

References 26 publications

Early hominids may have been weed species

Early hominids may have been weed species

Molecular evolution of HoxA13 and the multiple origins of limbless morphologies in amphibians and reptiles

Copulatory and Postcopulatory Sexual Selection in Primates

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