Conceptualizing the Autism Spectrum in Terms of Natural Selection and Behavioral Ecology: The Solitary Forager Hypothesis

Reser, Jared Edward

doi:10.1177/147470491100900209

Cited by 26 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 124 publications

(159 reference statements)

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“…The high prevalence and heritability of autism spectrum disorders have led to a variety of evolutionary hypotheses on their origin and maintenance ( 45 ). One such hypothesis is the "solitary forager hypothesis", which proposes that the autistic behavioral profile would have been advantageous for hunting and gathering in scarce ancestral environments ( 46,47 ). Cephalopods are also characterized by a solitary lifestyle and complex foraging niche ( 42 ), suggesting that there may be cognitive and neural similarities between autistic humans and cephalopods.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary Analyses of RNA Editing and Amino Acid Recoding in Cephalopods

Wang

Mohlhenrich

2019

Preprint

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RNA editing is a post-transcriptional modification process that alters nucleotides of mRNA and consequently the amino acids of the translated protein without changing the original DNA sequence. In human and other mammals, amino acid recoding from RNA editing is rare, and most edits are non-adaptive and provide no fitness advantage ( 1 ). However, recently it was discovered that in soft-bodied cephalopods, which are exceptionally intelligent and include squid, octopus, and cuttlefish, RNA editing is widespread and positively selected ( 2 ). To examine the effects of RNA editing on individual genes, we developed a "diversity score" system that quantitatively assesses the amount of diversity generated in each gene, incorporating combinatorial diversity and the radicalness of amino acid changes. Using this metric, we compiled a list of top 100 genes across the cephalopod species that are most diversified by RNA editing. This list of candidate genes provides directions for future research into the specific functional impact of RNA editing in terms of protein structure and cellular function on individual proteins. Additionally, considering the connection of RNA editing to the nervous system, and the exceptional intelligence of cephalopod, the candidate genes may shed light to the molecular development of behavioral complexity and intelligence. To further investigate global influences of RNA editing on the transcriptome, we investigated changes in nucleotide composition and codon usage biases in edited genes and coleoid transcriptome in general. Results show that these features indeed correlate with editing and may correspond to causes or effects of RNA editing. In addition, we characterized the unusual RNA editing in cephalopods by analyzing ratio of radical to conservative amino acid substitutions (R/C) and distribution of amino acid recoding from editing. Our results show that compared to model organisms, editing in cephalopods have significantly decreased R/C ratio and distinct distribution of amino acid substitutions that favor conservative over radical changes, indicating selection at the amino acid level and providing a potential mechanism for the evolution of widespread RNA editing in cephalopods.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary Analyses of RNA Editing and Amino Acid Recoding in Cephalopods

Wang

Mohlhenrich

2019

Preprint

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“…autism and schizophrenia) of human diversity remain prevalent [9,25]? Fitness-independent mechanisms, temporal or environmental fitness changes or trade-offs, population benefit theory, and the combinations, as a homeostatic mechanism have been repeatedly addressed as the solutions [23,[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]. In a novel concept, the stochastic epistasis perspective, the difference from the temporal fitness trade-offs in balancing selection (the classical neutral theory of molecular evolution) is the stochasticity or unpredictability of the fitness oscillations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The origin of human complex diversity: Stochastic epistatic modules and the intrinsic compatibility between distributional robustness and phenotypic changeability

Ijichi

Ijichi²,

Ijichi³

et al. 2018

J. Integr. Neurosci.

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The continuing prevalence of a highly heritable and hypo-reproductive extreme tail of a human neurobehavioral quantitative diversity suggests the reproductive majority retains the genetic mechanisms for extremes. From the perspective of stochastic epistasis, the effect of an epistatic modifier variant can randomly vary in both phenotypic value and effect direction among carriers depending on the genetic identity and the modifier carriers are ubiquitous in the population. The neutrality of the mean genetic effect in carriers ensures the survival of the variant under selection pressures. Functionally or metabolically related modifier variants make an epistatic network module and dozens of modules may be involved in the phenotype. To assess the significance of stochastic epistasis, a simplified module-based model was simulated. The individual repertoire of the modifier variants in a module also contributes in genetic identity, which determines the genetic contribution of each carrier modifier. Because the entire contribution of a module to phenotypic outcome is unpredictable in the model, the module effect represents the total contribution of related modifiers as a stochastic unit in simulations. As a result, the intrinsic compatibility between distributional robustness and quantitative changeability could mathematically be simulated using the model. The artificial normal distribution shape in large-sized simulations was preserved in each generation even if the lowest fitness tail was non-reproductive. The robustness of normality across generations is analogous to the real situation of complex human diversity, including neurodevelopmental conditions. The repeated regeneration of a non-reproductive extreme tail may be essential for survival and change of the reproductive majority, implying extremes for others. Further simulation to illustrate how the fitness of extreme individuals can be low across generations may be necessary to increase the plausibility of this stochastic epistasis model.

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“…Thus, the differentiation of interests is a consequence of the evolution from a predominantly solitary lifestyle in the ancestral environment to a more recent social lifestyle. This view is developed, for example, by Reser (2011) to account for autism spectrum disorders. According to Reser, variations in the size of human groups must have led to differences in the manner in which natural selection has modified the social and cognitive abilities of humans.…”

Section: Guiding Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological components of responses to interest inventory items

Thiébaut¹

2013

Journal of Employment Couns

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International audienceThis study tests the relevance of 10 psychological traits that are assumed to exemplify responses to the items of INFORIZON, an occupational interest inventory. To accomplish this goal, the author analyzed the responses to the interest items based on a sample of 824 participants (17–25 years old), with an assessment of the items based on psychological traits using another French sample (147 participants) in the same age category. The results of multiple linear regression analyses supported most of the hypotheses presented in this study

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Conceptualizing the Autism Spectrum in Terms of Natural Selection and Behavioral Ecology: The Solitary Forager Hypothesis

Cited by 26 publications

References 124 publications

Evolutionary Analyses of RNA Editing and Amino Acid Recoding in Cephalopods

Evolutionary Analyses of RNA Editing and Amino Acid Recoding in Cephalopods

The origin of human complex diversity: Stochastic epistatic modules and the intrinsic compatibility between distributional robustness and phenotypic changeability

Psychological components of responses to interest inventory items

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