Levy Stephanie B, Leonard William R
Department of Anthropology, CUNY Hunter College, New York, New York, USA.
New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, USA.
Evol Anthropol. 2022 Apr;31(2):75-91. doi: 10.1002/evan.21930. Epub 2021 Dec 15.
While human adaptability is regarded as a classical topic in anthropology, recent work provides new insight into metabolic adaptations to cold climates and the role of phenotypic plasticity in human evolution. A growing body of literature demonstrates that adults retain brown adipose tissue (BAT) which may play a role in non-shivering thermogenesis. In this narrative review, we apply the timescales of adaptation framework in order to explore the adaptive significance of human BAT. Human variation in BAT is shaped by multiple adaptive modes (i.e., allostasis, acclimatization, developmental adaptation, epigenetic inheritance, and genetic adaptation), and together the adaptive modes act as an integrated system. We hypothesize that plasticity in BAT facilitated the successful expansion of human populations into circumpolar regions, allowing for selection of genetic adaptations to cold climates to take place. Future research rooted in human energetics and biocultural perspectives is essential for understanding BAT's adaptive and health significance.
虽然人类适应性被视为人类学中的一个经典话题，但最近的研究为代谢对寒冷气候的适应以及表型可塑性在人类进化中的作用提供了新的见解。越来越多的文献表明，成年人保留着褐色脂肪组织（BAT），其可能在非寒战产热中发挥作用。在这篇叙述性综述中，我们应用适应框架的时间尺度来探讨人类BAT的适应性意义。BAT的人类变异受多种适应模式（即异稳态、驯化、发育适应、表观遗传遗传和基因适应）影响，这些适应模式共同构成一个综合系统。我们假设，BAT的可塑性促进了人类成功向极地地区扩张，从而使对寒冷气候的基因适应得以选择。基于人类能量学和生物文化视角的未来研究对于理解BAT的适应性和健康意义至关重要。
