Evolutionary responses to a constructed niche: ancient Mesoamericans as a model of gene-culture coevolution

Culture and genetics rely on two distinct but not isolated transmission systems. Cultural processes may change the human selective environment and thereby affect which individuals survive and reproduce. Here, we evaluated whether the modes of subsistence in Native American populations and the frequencies of the ABCA1*Arg230Cys polymorphism were correlated. Further, we examined whether the evolutionary consequences of the agriculturally constructed niche in Mesoamerica could be considered as a gene-culture coevolution model. For this purpose, we genotyped 229 individuals affiliated with 19 Native American populations and added data for 41 other Native American groups (n = 1905) to the analysis. In combination with the SNP cluster of a neutral region, this dataset was then used to unravel the scenario involved in 230Cys evolutionary history. The estimated age of 230Cys is compatible with its origin occurring in the American continent. The correlation of its frequencies with the archeological data on Zea pollen in Mesoamerica/Central America, the neutral coalescent simulations, and the FST-based natural selection analysis suggest that maize domestication was the driving force in the increase in the frequencies of 230Cys in this region. These results may represent the first example of a gene-culture coevolution involving an autochthonous American allele. Fil: Hünemeier, Tábita. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasil Fil: Amorim, Carlos Eduardo Guerra. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasil Fil: de Azevedo, Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina Fil: Contini, Veronica. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasil Fil: Acuña Alonzo, Víctor. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia; México Fil: Rothhammer, Francisco. Universidad de Chile. Facultad de Medicina; Chile Fil: Dugoujon, Jean Michel. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Université Paul Sabatier; Francia Fil: Mazières, Stephane. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Aix-Marseille Université; Francia. Anthropologie Bio-Culturelle, Droit, Éthique et Santé; Francia Fil: Barrantes, Ramiro. Universidad de Costa Rica; Costa Rica Fil: Villarreal Molina, María Teresa. Instituto Nacional de Medicina Genómica. Laboratorio de Genómica de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares; México Fil: Paixão Côrtes, Vanessa Rodrigues. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasil Fil: Salzano, Francisco M.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasil Fil: Canizales Quinteros, Samuel. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México Fil: Ruiz-Linares, Andres. University College London; Reino Unido Fil: Bortolini, Maria Cátira. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasil