Evolutionary advantage is lost with diet change: study

: A study made by a team of geneticists headed by Kumar S.D Kothapalli, a Telugu scientist based in Cornell University, has found that the evolutionary advantage enjoyed by vegetarian Indian with regard being able to metabolise long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) was lost if there is a dramatic change in their diet.

The study with the title “Positive Selection on a Regulatory Insertion-Deletion Polymorphism in FADS2 Influences Apparent Endogenous Synthesis of Archidonic Acid,” published by the Molecular Biology and Evolution was made available to The Hindu at the request of Dr Kothapalli. Dr. Kothapalli who called The Hindu from Ithaca, NY, said, “ This study will be released to various publication in the west on March 29, at 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, but I asked that it be released in India because it concerned the Indians. LCPUF are bioactive components of membrane phospholipids and serve as substrates of signalling molecules. LCPUFA can be obtained directly from animal food or synthesised endogenously from 18 carbon precursors via the FADS2 enzyme.

Risky changes

Vegans rely almost exclusively on endogenous synthesis to generate LCPUFA. An adaptive genetic mutation must have been advantages. But substantial evidence has accumulated that any dramatic shift in diet was a risk factor for life-style-related diseases such as cardiovascular, diabetes, cancer and inflammation-related diseases. This indicates that it was risky for vegetarian Indians to change their diets to a highly non-vegetarian diet.