How Neanderthals and Other Early Humans Evolved to Eat Starch

As soon as you put starch in your mouth, whether it’s a dumpling, a forkful of mashed potatoes, or a saltine, enzymes in your saliva begin to break down the starch.

That enzyme, known as amylase, has been critical to the evolution of our species as it adapts to changing food supplies. Two new studies reveal that our ancestors began carrying more amylase genes in two large waves. The first wave was hundreds of thousands of years ago, probably in response to the invention of fire, and the second 12,000 years ago, after the agricultural revolution.

“The combination of adaptation to diverse environments and dietary modification is a core tenet of what makes us human,” said Omar Gokmen, a geneticist at the University at Buffalo who led one of the studies. . published Thursday is science.

Ancient societies evolved to have different numbers of amylase genes as they developed different diets, a new study suggests. Dr. Gokmen speculates that today’s people, who have fewer amylase genes, may be more susceptible to diseases such as diabetes, which are promoted by modern starchy diets. In the future, this discovery may indicate the possibility of amylase-based treatments for these diseases.

“This is clearly in the future, but I think our research sets us up to actually do this,” Dr. Gokmen said.

The first clue to the amazing history that lies in our mouths appeared in the 1960swhen scientists discovered that some people Extra amylase is produced in saliva. But only in the last few years DNA sequencing technology It will be accurate enough to be able to decipher the amylase gene that humans have in their cells.