TY - JOUR
T1 - Hominoid seminal protein evolution and ancestral mating behavior
AU - Carnahan, Sarah J.
AU - Jensen-Seaman, Michael I.
N1 - Funding Information:
Para Nancy lo que se anuncia el 68 es el fin no solamente de la “época de las concepciones del mundo” sino también del trazado de horizontes, la determinación de objetivos y la previsión operativa, el abandono, en definitiva de la era de la historia, o “ya no una historia en la cual fuésemos los sujetos, sino una historia que nos sorprendiera y nos arrebatara” (Ibíd.: 65), que es para Nancy inseparable del evento, “el evento sorprende o no es un evento” (Nancy 2000a: 97). En el 68, de diversas maneras, se abandonaba el régimen de la “concepción” para abrir otro régimen de pensamiento: ya no más formas encargadas de modelar un dato histórico preformado como “progreso” y de inspeccionar las cosas en nombre de la razón. Lo que cuenta es esta verdad: que la autoridad no puede ser definida por ninguna autorización previa y solo puede proceder de un deseo que se expresa o reconoce en ella. La democracia no debe disponer de autoridad alguna identificada a partir de un lugar diferente a un deseo en el cual se exprese y reconozca una verdadera posibilidad de ser todos juntos en común. La comunidad no es un ser en común sino un ser en común, estar uno con otro. Lo que significa que puedo decir “yo” solo si puedo decir “nosotros”, la alteridad consiste en la no presencia a sí: “Somos otros –cada uno para el otro y cada uno para sí– por el nacimiento y la muerte que exponen nuestra finitud o que hoy exponen a la finitud” (Nancy 2000: 176).
PY - 2008/10
Y1 - 2008/10
N2 - Hominoid mating systems show extensive variation among species. The degree of sexual dimorphism in body size and canine size varies among primates in accordance with their mating system, as does the testes size and the consistency of ejaculated semen, in response to differing levels of sperm competition. To investigate patterns of evolution at hominoid seminal proteins and to make inferences regarding the mating systems of extinct taxa, we sequenced the entire coding region of the prostate-specific transglutaminase (TGM4) gene in human, chimpanzee, bonobo, western lowland gorilla, eastern lowland gorilla, orangutan, and siamang, including multiple humans, chimps, and gorillas. Partial DNA sequence of the coding regions was also obtained for one eastern lowland gorilla at the semenogelin genes (SEMG1 and SEMG2), which code for the predominant proteins in semen. Patterns of nucleotide variation and inferred protein sequence change were evaluated within and between species. Combining the present data with previous studies demonstrates a high rate of amino acid substitutions, and low intraspecific variation, at seminal proteins in Pan, presumably driven by strong sperm competition. Both gorilla species apparently possess nonfunctional TGM4, SEMG1, and SEMG2 genes, suggesting that gorillas have had low sperm competition, and therefore their current polygynous mating system, for a long time before their divergence. Similarly, orangutans show longstanding stasis at TGM4, which may be interpreted as evidence for an unchanging mating system for most of their evolution after their divergence from African apes. In contrast to the great apes, the data from humans could be interpreted as evidence of fluctuations between different mating systems or alternatively as a relaxed functional constraint in these proteins. It is our hope that this study is a first step toward developing a model to predict ancestral mating systems from extant molecular data to complement interpretations from the fossil record.
AB - Hominoid mating systems show extensive variation among species. The degree of sexual dimorphism in body size and canine size varies among primates in accordance with their mating system, as does the testes size and the consistency of ejaculated semen, in response to differing levels of sperm competition. To investigate patterns of evolution at hominoid seminal proteins and to make inferences regarding the mating systems of extinct taxa, we sequenced the entire coding region of the prostate-specific transglutaminase (TGM4) gene in human, chimpanzee, bonobo, western lowland gorilla, eastern lowland gorilla, orangutan, and siamang, including multiple humans, chimps, and gorillas. Partial DNA sequence of the coding regions was also obtained for one eastern lowland gorilla at the semenogelin genes (SEMG1 and SEMG2), which code for the predominant proteins in semen. Patterns of nucleotide variation and inferred protein sequence change were evaluated within and between species. Combining the present data with previous studies demonstrates a high rate of amino acid substitutions, and low intraspecific variation, at seminal proteins in Pan, presumably driven by strong sperm competition. Both gorilla species apparently possess nonfunctional TGM4, SEMG1, and SEMG2 genes, suggesting that gorillas have had low sperm competition, and therefore their current polygynous mating system, for a long time before their divergence. Similarly, orangutans show longstanding stasis at TGM4, which may be interpreted as evidence for an unchanging mating system for most of their evolution after their divergence from African apes. In contrast to the great apes, the data from humans could be interpreted as evidence of fluctuations between different mating systems or alternatively as a relaxed functional constraint in these proteins. It is our hope that this study is a first step toward developing a model to predict ancestral mating systems from extant molecular data to complement interpretations from the fossil record.
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U2 - 10.1002/ajp.20585
DO - 10.1002/ajp.20585
M3 - Article
C2 - 18561295
AN - SCOPUS:53549130262
SN - 0275-2565
VL - 70
SP - 939
EP - 948
JO - American journal of primatology
JF - American journal of primatology
IS - 10
ER -