Lecture 16: Molecular Evolution

What are the synonymous and nonsynonymous mutations?

What parts of the gene are not translated? How much of the gene do these regions account for?

How much of the genome encodes for actual genes? What do we call the portion that doesn’t encode a gene?

While untranslated regions of genes, and intergenic regions can have functions, and selection can influence them, what does the nature of the genome suggest concerning selection and neutrality?

How likely is it that a variable site in the genome is being regulated by selection? How about drift?

Who is credited with establishing neutral theory?

Can neutral evolution occur in coding sequences? What should it look like?

How can you determine if a gene would make a good molecular clock?

What do you need to calibrate a molecular clock? How was the molecular clock calibrated for HIV?

What is it called when selection maintains a specific gene function of a gene? What does that look like?

What type of selection has likely acted on the FOX2P gene and the BRCA1 gene in humans?

What is the only species known to consume dairy products past infancy?

• Humans

Why can’t most adult mammals digest the sugar in milk?

• They do not have the enzyme to digest it nor do they have the mutation to create the enzyme

Where were cattle first domesticated?

What human populations have the highest rates of lactase persistence?

What evidence do we have the lactase persistence alleles rose rapidly in frequency over the past ~10K years?

What is the linkage disequilibrium and what role does it play in leaving signatures of selection in organismal genomes?