Humans’ ability to savor starchy foods like bread, pasta, and fries has deep evolutionary roots, but recent research suggests that this ability may go back much further than previously believed.
A groundbreaking study published in the journal Science on Thursday provides new insights into the evolutionary history of the amylase gene, which plays a key role in breaking down starches into sugar. This gene, which is responsible for producing amylase—a crucial enzyme found in saliva and the digestive system—has helped humans process carbohydrates for energy for thousands of years.
The study, led by Omer Gokcumen, a professor of biological sciences at the University at Buffalo, shows that humans’ ability to digest starch may date as far back as 800,000 years ago—long before the development of agriculture or the spread of human populations outside of Africa. This research contradicts previous assumptions that human ancestors only began to develop multiple copies of the amylase gene around 12,000 years ago, when farming first took hold.
What’s even more remarkable is that the study also found amylase gene duplications in Neanderthals and Denisovans—ancestral relatives of modern humans. These findings suggest that the gene’s ability to help process starch may have been common among human populations long before the rise of agricultural societies.
“These duplications predate the advent of agriculture, which challenges the idea that the gene’s development was strictly linked to the consumption of starchy foods,” said Gokcumen. “This discovery expands our understanding of how ancient humans adapted to their diets.”
Although it remains unclear why our ancient ancestors carried these gene duplications, Gokcumen suggests that Neanderthals may have included starches in their largely carnivorous diets. “It’s possible they had access to starchy plants, which could have helped supplement their nutrition,” he explained.
While today, amylase helps us digest starch, it may also explain why starchy foods taste so appealing to many of us. Some studies suggest that populations with more copies of the amylase gene may have an increased preference for starch, although more research is needed to fully understand this connection.
Peter Sudmant, an assistant professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley, who was not involved in the study, published his own research on amylase last month in Nature. His study posits that the gene’s proliferation may have helped humans better digest starch-rich diets when agriculture spread across Europe about 12,000 years ago.
“With the advent of agriculture, those who had more copies of the amylase gene may have had a survival advantage, as they were better able to process the starches they consumed,” Sudmant explained.
Despite the advancements in understanding the amylase gene’s evolutionary role, scientists are still working to uncover its exact impact on human health today. For instance, some research has linked higher numbers of amylase gene copies to dental issues such as cavities, since the enzyme converts starches into sugars that can fuel bacteria in the mouth.
“Having more copies of the amylase gene may be beneficial for starch digestion, but it could also come with some risks, like dental decay,” said Sudmant.
The study also underscores a growing interest in the field of genetics and its implications for human health. By analyzing genetic material from ancient humans through a relatively new technology called long-read sequencing, researchers are gaining unprecedented insight into our evolutionary past. This method allows scientists to fully examine regions of ancient genomes that were previously difficult to analyze, including the amylase gene region.
Gokcumen’s research team analyzed genetic material from 68 ancient humans, including samples as old as 45,000 years from Siberia and 34,000 years from Romania. Meanwhile, Sudmant’s study relied on hundreds of ancient genomes from across Europe.
The discovery that the amylase gene existed long before agriculture opens up exciting new avenues for research. Scientists now have the tools to reconstruct the evolutionary history of human diets and understand how ancient populations adapted to their environments.
“The potential for future research in this area is vast,” Gokcumen said. “We can now start to answer some of the bigger questions about how early humans evolved, not just in terms of physical traits, but also in relation to how they processed food and nutrients.”
These findings not only expand our knowledge of human evolution but also offer insight into how our ancient diets shaped modern health. Further studies on the amylase gene may shed light on the complex relationship between diet, genetics, and health—offering new opportunities to explore personalized nutrition in the future.
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