Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, USA.
Human Evolutionary Biology and Health Lab, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, USA.
Am J Hum Biol. 2022 Nov;34(11):e23811. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.23811. Epub 2022 Oct 7.
The use of minimally invasive biomarkers (MIBs - physiological biomarkers obtained from minimally invasive sample types) has expanded rapidly in science and medicine over the past several decades. The MIB approach is a methodological strength in the field of human and non-human primate evolutionary biology (HEB). Among humans and our closest relatives, MIBs provide unique opportunities to document phenotypic variation and to operationalize evolutionary hypotheses.
This paper overviews the use of MIBs in HEB. Our objectives are to (1) highlight key research topics which successfully implement MIBs, (2) identify promising yet under-investigated areas of MIB application, and (3) discuss current challenges in MIB research, with suggestions for advancing the field.
A range of MIBs are used to investigate focal topics in HEB, including energetics and life history variation/evolution, developmental plasticity, and social status and dominance relationships. Nonetheless, we identify gaps in existing MIB research on traits such as physical growth and gut function that are central to the field. Several challenges remain for HEB research using MIBs, including the need for additional biomarkers and methods of assessment, robust validations, and approaches that are standardized across labs and research groups. Importantly, researchers must provide better support for adaptation and fitness effects in hypothesis testing (e.g., by obtaining complementary measures of energy expenditure, demonstrating redundancy of function, and performing lifetime/longitudinal analyses). We point to continued progress in the use of MIBs in HEB to better understand the past, present, and future of humans and our closest primate relatives.
在过去几十年中，微创生物标志物（MIB-从微创样本类型中获得的生理生物标志物）在科学和医学中的应用迅速扩大。MIB 方法是人类和非人类灵长类动物进化生物学（HEB）领域的一种方法优势。在人类和我们最亲近的亲属中，MIB 提供了记录表型变异和实施进化假设的独特机会。
本文概述了 MIB 在 HEB 中的应用。我们的目标是：（1）突出成功实施 MIB 的关键研究课题，（2）确定有前途但研究不足的 MIB 应用领域，以及（3）讨论 MIB 研究中的当前挑战，并提出推进该领域的建议。
一系列 MIB 用于研究 HEB 中的焦点主题，包括能量学和生活史变异/进化、发育可塑性以及社会地位和支配关系。尽管如此，我们还是发现了现有 MIB 研究在身体生长和肠道功能等方面的差距，这些特征是该领域的核心。使用 MIB 进行 HEB 研究仍然存在一些挑战，包括需要更多的生物标志物和评估方法、稳健的验证以及跨实验室和研究小组标准化的方法。重要的是，研究人员必须在假设检验中为适应和适合度效应提供更好的支持（例如，通过获得能量消耗的补充测量、证明功能冗余性以及进行终生/纵向分析）。我们指出，在使用 MIB 更好地理解人类和我们最亲近的灵长类亲属的过去、现在和未来方面，将继续取得进展。
