Evolution of mitochondrial DNA in monkeys, apes, and humans

Abstract

The size of the primate single mitochondrial DNA molecular ring, the genetic technology for obtaining pure samples, the use of nucleotide sequence and restriction endonuclease analyses, and the relatively rapid rate of evolution make mtDNA variation useful for microevolutionary studies within and between species despite the informational content of the 37 genes being restricted to one locus because of complete linkage. The data on chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and gibbons support the hypothesis that the two African apes are the closest living biological relatives of humans and favor a closer relation of chimpanzees and humans than of gorillas and humans. The data support the origin of Homo sapiens by regional phyletic transition from H. erectus, starting in Africa in the Middle Pleistocene, and oppose the hypothesis of rapid world-wide replacement by migration from a single source. The human continental races share a majority of both their mitochondrial and nuclear gene pools.

Resolution of the African hominoid trichotomy by use of a mitochondrial gene sequence.

“…Three major regions, 20%o of mtDNA, have been studied among hominoids. The 896-bp region containing partial ND-4 and ND-5 (NADH dehydrogenase complex) genes and three tRNA genes (40) has been analyzed many times with differing results (38,(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45) Xenopus 7 13 27 24 7 14 29 26 14 28 24 23 25 20 39 36 13 31 34 14 100 99 101 99 99 102 98 102 98 101 97 101 102 105 101 105 92 91 89 89 114 105 113 109 65 69 65 64 62 67 71 67 66 64 65 69 65 64 62 65 68 65 64 62 73 74 71 72 71 69 70 67 68 68 7 3 2 21 43 4 7 25 42 3 3 21 44 9 6 21 68 67 68 70 96 103 104 102 instance, reanalysis of coding and noncoding regions of Only one DNA sequence study has been interpreted as nuclear DNA and mtDNA provide statistically significant supporting a Pan/Gorilla dlade, and this conclusion rests (4)…”

Testing the Universality of Phonological Generalizations with a Phonetically Specified Segment Database: Results and Limitations

“…Given that in dividual languages display great variability in phonological structure, and all are at least adequate to the tasks they must serve, it is hard to rule out the possibility that some prevailing patterns result from accid ental survival and spread. We might con sider this in the light of the much-discussed possibility that all modern humans have a relatively recent single African ancestor [Brown, 1980;Cann et al, 1987;Stringer and Andrews, 1988], even though this idea, based on a dating technique using mito chondrial DNA, is robustly rejected by many scholars [Avise et al, 1984;Spuhler, 1988;Wolpoff, 1988]. If it is true, then it is overwhelmingly probable that all living hu man languages likewise have a compara tively recent single common ancestor, also with an African origin.…”

Comparison of craniofacial features of major human groups

“…This single-origin, or "Out of Africa," hypothesis has been further supported by a paleoanthropological standpoint (Stringer and Andrews, 1988;Valladas et al, 1988;Stringer, 1990). However, several controversies have arisen concerning the genetic evidence (Weise and Maruyama, 1976;Excofier et al, 1987;Saitou and Omoto, 1987;Sanchez-Mazas and Langaney, 1988;Spuhler, 1988;Excofier and Langaney, 1989;Maddison, 1991;Hedges et al, 1992;Nei, 1992;Templeton, 1992Templeton, , 1993Klein et al, 1993). …”

“…The classic regional-continuity model or polycentric view of modern human emergence proposed by Weidenreich (1943Weidenreich ( , 1945Weidenreich ( , 1951 and Coon (1962) has been succeeded and outlined in a broader theoretical context by Wolpoff and his colleagues as the multiregional-evolution model (Wolpoff, 1980(Wolpoff, ,1985(Wolpoff, ,1989Thorne and Wolpoff, 1981;Wolpoff et al, 1984Wolpoff et al, , 1988. The multiregional-evolution model argues that there is considerable morphological and genetic con- (Spuhler, 1988;Li and Sadler, 1991;Xiong et al, 1991). As compared with the two simplified alternatives, a less extreme "Out of Africa" model, which assumes a complex hybridization and replacement process, has been proposed (Rightmire, 1979(Rightmire, ,1986Brauer, 1984Brauer, ,1989Brauer, , 1992Smith, 1985;Smith et al, 1989;Bowcock et al, 1991;Pope, 1992a).…”