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Therefore, lactase persistence is often cited as an example of both recent human evolution [15] and, as lactase persistence is a genetic trait but animal husbandry a cultural trait, gene-culture coevolution in the mutual human-animal symbiosis initiated with the advent of agriculture. [56]
Thomas has also worked extensively on the evolution of lactase persistence (see Lactose intolerance), the ability of some humans to produce the enzyme lactase throughout their adult life and thus to consume appreciable quantities of fresh milk without the discomforts of lactose malabsorption.
Lactase persistence is a rare ability among mammals. [74] Because it involves a single gene, it is a simple example of convergent evolution in humans. Other examples of convergent evolution, such as the light skin of Europeans and East Asians or the various means of resistance to malaria, are much more complicated. [16]
Some of her most cited research is a study on genomic variation around the lactase gene, the first to show coevolution of a cultural and genetic trait. Tishkoff was able to link evolution of cattle domestication to lactase persistence. [5]
The timeline of human evolution outlines the major events in the evolutionary lineage of the modern human species, Homo sapiens, ... [74] or lactase persistence. ...
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Many adults are lactose intolerant because their bodies cease production of the enzyme lactase post childhood. However, mutations in the promoter region of the lactase gene (LCT) result in the continued production of lactase throughout adulthood in certain African populations, a condition known as lactase persistence. A study conducted by Sarah ...
The lactase persistence example may be representative of a very general pattern of gene-culture coevolution. Niche construction is also now central to several accounts of how language evolved. For instance, Derek Bickerton describes how our ancestors constructed scavenging niches that required them to communicate in order to recruit sufficient ...