"Genetic adaptation" refers to the process by which living organisms change their genetic makeup over time in response to their environment. This allows them to better survive and reproduce in their surroundings.
Full definition
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new genetic adaptations, some 2,000 in total, are not limited to the well - recognized differences among ethnic groups in superficial traits such as skin and eye color.
(3) Would you argue that the different proportions of fat and carbs on ancestral diet could not have resulted in
genetic adaptations relevant for (2)?
As the groups met and mixed, a new population displaying patterns
of genetic adaptation to high latitude environments arose.
The researchers also identified
genetic adaptations for living at altitude, and a lack of genes for lactose tolerance — all genetic traits shared by the current populations of the Ethiopian highlands.
One newly discovered
genetic adaptation helps Tibetans produce more folate, which aids in pregnancy but can become depleted at high altitudes.
And because evolutionary changes can move «sideways and backwards and occasionally forward,» he says it's important to understand when the specific
genetic adaptations occurred that allowed unicellular organisms to combine, specialize, and give rise to true multicellularity.
Such genetic adaptations, if present, could make the virus as much as 100 times more infectious to mosquitoes, says Stephen Higgs, a chikungunya expert at Kansas State University.
Now the draft genome of the species, published in the November 2011 Cell, suggests
how genetic adaptations allow these lovely insects to survive their long journey.
By studying spit they found that specific
genetic adaptations allowed that virus, normally spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, to expand its range by jumping to a different carrier, the Aedes albopictus mosquito.
Signatures of
Environmental Genetic Adaptation Pinpoint Pathogens as the Main Selective Pressure through Human Evolution Fumagalli, M., M. Sironi, U. Pozzoli, A. Ferrer - Admettla et al. 2011.
«They way we
study genetic adaptation now is we start by looking at a particular trait or phenotype, and then we work backward to identify the associated genes and mutations,» she said.
«They way we study
genetic adaptation now is we start by looking at a particular trait or phenotype, and then we work backward to identify the associated genes and mutations,» Ramachandran says.
Going forward, she and colleagues hope that knowing the protein's structure will help them
link genetic adaptations for cold tolerance in TRPM8 with specific structural changes in the protein.
Since antique DNA (aDNA) of malaria is very difficult to extract, they studied thalassemia and
other genetic adaptations in its place.
Now Professor Olivier Hanotte from The University of Nottingham and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Ethiopia, with Professor Heebal Kim from Seoul National University, have mapped the genomes of five breeds of African cattle and discovered some
unique genetic adaptations that could inform and improve future breeding programs.
The KU Leuven team is currently examining whether other pathogens show a similar increase in tolerance and whether the same process of
genetic adaptation takes place during the treatment of infections in human beings.
Among populations living at high altitudes, who also have to cope with low oxygen levels, researchers have previously found
different genetic adaptations that converge on the same phenotype, all in some way affecting red blood cell count, notes Theodore Schurr, an anthropological geneticist at the University of Pennsylvania who was not involved in the study.
This was among the first to suggest that our genome evolved according to the nutrition requirements of ancient man, and modern - day dietary changes have occurred much too rapidly for
adequate genetic adaptation.
«Our findings are important because until now evidence supporting the hypothesis that exotic plants can spread after a period of
rapid genetic adaptation has been very scant,» says Dr. Vandepitte.
«This work provides the first evidence for
genetic adaptation in diving human populations and elucidates genetic pathways important in hypoxia tolerance,» Tatum Simonson, who studies the physiology and genetics of high - altitude adaptation at the University of California, San Diego Health Sciences, and was not involved in the work, writes in an email to The Scientist.
«These plants can be present in small numbers for years before spreading as a result
of genetic adaptation.
saves that fish to pass
that genetic adaptation on to the next generation.
Physiological and
genetic adaptations to diving in sea nomads.
«This is the very first documented case of
the genetic adaptation to malaria on Sardinia,» Claudia Vigano says.
These methods range from interventions in the environment like draining swamps, to
genetic adaptations in the human body.
For centuries,
this genetic adaptation helped to maintain the population.
These genetic adaptations include the loss of mitochondria, as well as extreme metabolic and genomic simplification.
By now, some parasites have evolved resistance to the drug:
genetic adaptations that allow them to expel chloroquine from their food vacuoles 40 to 50 times faster than their drug - sensitive kin.
«The study provides new insights into evolution and
genetic adaptation, and establishes a framework for investigating the biological mechanisms behind disease resistance and adaptation to climate, knowledge that could be vital for protecting honeybees in a rapidly changing world,» says Matthew Webster.
Fungi therefore may play a very important role in the highly complex soil habitat: in the spread of soil bacteria,
their genetic adaptation and diversity, and ultimately also their evolution.
These studies are also providing data on
the genetic adaptations responsible for human resistance to extremely low temperatures.
Nevertheless, the Goffin's cockatoo, an Indonesian parrot, exhibit both abilities while seemingly lacking
a genetic adaptation for tool use.
Since evolution does not happen overnight, one would assume this sudden shift (much like the increase in height and weight) is unrelated to
genetic adaptations.
Having found guided mutation in a virus infecting archaea, the scientists reasoned that archaea themselves might use the same mechanism for
genetic adaptation.
Furthermore, «because some hunter - gatherer societies obtained most of their dietary energy from wild animal fat and protein does not imply that this is the ideal diet for modern humans, nor does it imply that modern humans have
genetic adaptations to such diets.»
An undergraduate researcher analyzes DNA from 1,000 - year - old human teeth for
genetic adaptations to milk consumption.
«This is
a genetic adaptation to retain camouflage in areas where snow is intermittent or sparse.»
Using samples of centuries - old herbaria and DNA analysis, the researchers reconstructed
the genetic adaptations undergone by the Pyrenean rocket prior to its rapid spread in Belgium.
Researchers publishing in PLoS Genetics examine the potential and limits for rapid
genetic adaptation to warming in a Great Barrier Reef coral.