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Adaptive drool in the gene pool

A new study finds that copy number variation in the salivary amylase gene in humans is associated with amylase concentration in saliva and average starch consumption in populations. This provides a striking example of the role of copy number variants (CNVs) in adaptive evolution, and of diet in producing selective pressures.

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Figure 1: The distribution of salivary amylase copy number in the seven samples from Perry et al.1

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Novembre, J., Pritchard, J. & Coop, G. Adaptive drool in the gene pool. Nat Genet 39, 1188–1190 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1007-1188

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