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EEB 184 Development and evolution of
humans Exam Study Guide.
Human Evolution - answer✔Knowledge is limited because of ethics around human as a study
organism
Walking upright on two legs - answer✔Bipedal locomotion is a defining characteristic of
humans
Toes - answer✔Reduction in arboreal climbing toes became shorter and straighter
To explain evolutionary changes, scientist used comparative genome sequencing to locate what
sequences were deleted in humans and conserved in others (HCONDELS)
Fall in non-coding regions (enchancers?) and in regions known to effect skeletal structure. Two
ar listed below
hCONDEL.305 did not drive expression while .306 showed consistent expression in hindlimbs
and posterior digits
Wanted to see if Gdf6, a gene near hCONDEL.306 controls bone size
WT (presence of gene) longer digits. Humans lack this gene so we expect shorter posterior
digits (phenotype)
Human brains - answer✔hCONDEL332 located near GADD45g which represses cell proliferation
gADD45g is linked with excessive tissue growth and cancers
Human thumb - answer✔More difficult to analyze enhancer gain
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