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VIP and PACAP are pleiotropic peptides belonging to the secretin superfamily of brain-gut peptides and interact specifically with three receptors (VPAC1, PAC1 and VPAC2) from the class II B G protein-coupled receptor family. There is immense interest regarding their molecular evolution which is often described closely alongside gene and/or genome duplications. Despite the wide array of information available in various vertebrates and one invertebrate the tunicate, their evolutionary origins remain unresolved. Through searches of genome databases and molecular cloning techniques, the first lamprey VIP/ PACAP ligands and VPAC receptors are identified from the Japanese lamprey. In addition, two VPAC receptors (VPACa/b) are identified from inshore hagfish and ligands predicted for sea lamprey. Phylogenetic analyses group these molecules into their respective PHI/VIP, PRP/PACAP and VPAC receptor families and show they resemble ancestral forms. Japanese lamprey VIP/PACAP peptides synthesized were tested with the hagfish VPAC receptors. hfVPACa transduces signal via both adenylyl cylase and phospholipase C pathways, whilst hfVPACb was only able to transduce through the calcium pathway. In contrast to the widespread distribution of VIP/PACAP ligands and receptors in many species, the agnathan PACAP and VPAC receptors were found almost exclusively in the brain. In situ hybridisation further showed their abundance throughout the brain. The range of VIP/PACAP ligands and receptors found are highly useful, providing a glimpse into the evolutionary events both at the structural and functional levels. Though representative of ancestral forms, the VIP/PACAP ligands in particular have retained high sequence conservation indicating the importance of their functions even early in vertebrate evolution. During these nascent stages, only two VPAC receptors are likely responsible for eliciting functions before evolving later into specific subtypes post-Agnatha. We also propose VIP and PACAP's first functions to predominate in the brain, evolving alongside the central nervous system, subsequently establishing peripheral functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the foods we eat and the houses we construct, to our religious practices and political organization, to who we can marry and the types of games we teach our children, the diversity of cultural practices in the world is astounding. Yet, our ability to visualize and understand this diversity is limited by the ways it has been documented and shared: on a culture-by-culture basis, in locally-told stories or difficult-to-access repositories. In this paper we introduce D-PLACE, the Database of Places, Language, Culture, and Environment. This expandable and open-access database (accessible at ) brings together a dispersed corpus of information on the geography, language, culture, and environment of over 1400 human societies. We aim to enable researchers to investigate the extent to which patterns in cultural diversity are shaped by different forces, including shared history, demographics, migration/diffusion, cultural innovations, and environmental and ecological conditions. We detail how D-PLACE helps to overcome four common barriers to understanding these forces: i) location of relevant cultural data, (ii) linking data from distinct sources using diverse ethnonyms, (iii) variable time and place foci for data, and (iv) spatial and historical dependencies among cultural groups that present challenges for analysis. D-PLACE facilitates the visualisation of relationships among cultural groups and between people and their environments, with results downloadable as tables, on a map, or on a linguistic tree. We also describe how D-PLACE can be used for exploratory, predictive, and evolutionary analyses of cultural diversity by a range of users, from members of the worldwide public interested in contrasting their own cultural practices with those of other societies, to researchers using large-scale computational phylogenetic analyses to study cultural evolution. In summary, we hope that D-PLACE will enable new lines of investigation into the major drivers of cultural change and global patterns of cultural diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have debated naturalistic theories of religion for thousands of years, but only recently have scientists begun to test predictions empirically. Existing databases contain few variables on religion, and are subject to Galton’s Problem because they do not sufficiently account for the non-independence of cultures or systematically differentiate the traditional states of cultures from their contemporary states. Here we present Pulotu: the first quantitative cross-cultural database purpose-built to test evolutionary hypotheses of supernatural beliefs and practices. The Pulotu database documents the remarkable diversity of the Austronesian family of cultures, which originated in Taiwan, spread west to Madagascar and east to Easter Island–a region covering over half the world’s longitude. The focus of Austronesian beliefs range from localised ancestral spirits to powerful creator gods. A wide range of practices also exist, such as headhunting, elaborate tattooing, and the construction of impressive monuments. Pulotu is freely available, currently contains 116 cultures, and has 80 variables describing supernatural beliefs and practices, as well as social and physical environments. One major advantage of Pulotu is that it has separate sections on the traditional states of cultures, the post-contact history of cultures, and the contemporary states of cultures. A second major advantage is that cultures are linked to a language-based family tree, enabling the use phylogenetic methods, which can be used to address Galton’s Problem by accounting for common ancestry, to infer deep prehistory, and to model patterns of trait evolution over time. We illustrate the power of phylogenetic methods by performing an ancestral state reconstruction on the Pulotu variable “headhunting", finding evidence that headhunting was practiced in proto-Austronesian culture. Quantitative cross-cultural databases explicitly linking cultures to a phylogeny have the potential to revolutionise the field of comparative religious studies in the same way that genetic databases have revolutionised the field of evolutionary biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]