Department of Anthropology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2013;8(2):e55909. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055909. Epub 2013 Feb 7.
Recent applications of population genetic models to human craniodental traits have revealed a strong neutral component to patterns of global variation. However, little work has been undertaken to determine whether neutral processes might also be influencing the postcranium, perhaps due to substantial evidence for selection and plastic environmental responses in these regions. Recent work has provided evidence for neutral effects in the pelvis, but has been limited in regard to shape data (small numbers of linear measurements) and restricted only to males. Here, we use geometric morphometric methods to examine population variation in the human os coxae (pelvic bone) in both males and females. Neutrality is examined via apportionment of variance patterns and fit to an Out-of-Africa serial founder effect model, which is known to structure neutral genetic patterns. Moreover, we compare males and females directly, and the true versus false pelvis, in order to examine potential obstetrical effects. Our results indicate evidence for substantial neutral population history effects on pelvic shape variation. They also reveal evidence for the effect of obstetrical constraints, but these affect males and females to equivalent extents. Our results do not deny an important role for selection in regard to specific aspects of human pelvic variation, especially in terms of features associated with body size and proportions. However, our analyses demonstrate that at a global level, the shape of the os coxae reveals substantial evidence for neutral variation. Our analyses thus indicate that population variation in the human pelvis might be used to address important questions concerning population history, just as the human cranium has done.
最近，种群遗传模型在人类颅面特征上的应用揭示了全球变异模式中存在强烈的中性成分。然而，由于这些区域存在大量选择和塑性环境响应的证据，很少有人致力于确定中性过程是否也在影响后颅骨。最近的研究为骨盆中的中性效应提供了证据，但在形状数据（线性测量的数量较少）方面受到限制，并且仅局限于男性。在这里，我们使用几何形态测量方法来检查男性和女性的人类骨盆（骨盆骨）的种群变异。通过分配方差模式并适应已知结构中性遗传模式的非洲外串行创始人效应模型来检查中性。此外，我们直接比较男性和女性，以及真正的骨盆和虚假的骨盆，以检查潜在的产科影响。我们的结果表明，对骨盆形状变异的大量中性种群历史效应有证据。它们还揭示了产科限制的影响，但这些影响对男性和女性的影响程度相同。我们的结果并没有否认选择在人类骨盆变化的特定方面的重要作用，尤其是在与身体大小和比例相关的特征方面。然而，我们的分析表明，在全球水平上，骨盆的形状揭示了大量中性变异的证据。因此，我们的分析表明，人类骨盆的种群变化可能被用来解决有关种群历史的重要问题，就像人类颅骨一样。
