Wise Young
11-21-2006, 12:36 AM
Several examples of dramatic gene selection in humans, resulting from strong selective pressure, have been reported. These include the selection of thalessemia and sickle-cell genes in response to malaria, the lactase gene associated with the development of dairy farms, salt sensitivity in response to climate changes, and genes influencing brain development.
Voight, et al. (2006) recently published in PLOS Biology an important paper that documents the presence of remarkable shifts of genes associated with strong selective pressure:
A Map of Recent Positive Selection in the Human Genome
Benjamin F. Voight1, Sridhar Kudaravalli1, Xiaoquan Wen1, Jonathan K. Pritchard1*
1 Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Voight BF, Kudaravalli S, Wen X, Pritchard JK (2006) A Map of Recent Positive Selection in the Human Genome. PLoS Biol 4(3): e72 DOI:
The authors obtained SNP (single-nucleotide polymorphism) maps of the genes of three distinct populations from Africa, AsiTha, and Europe. They found evidence of strong genetic selection in all three populations. Most of the changes were isolated to one of the three populations. Further analysis revealed that the genes that showed the greatest selective pressure include those that regulate fertility (sperm proteins that affect motility), skin pigmentation (in Europeans), skeletal development, hair distribution and patterning, alcohol tolerance, sugar (mannose, sucrose, and lactose) metabolism, fat oxidation and , genes relating to neurological conditions (Alzheimer's susceptibility, serotonin transporter, GABA receptor, and dystrophin-binding).
The rate of change of these genes is much greater than the rest of the genes and localized to only one of the populations. Analysis of the other associated genes suggested that these occurred relatively recently within 6000 years in many cases.
Wise.
Voight, et al. (2006) recently published in PLOS Biology an important paper that documents the presence of remarkable shifts of genes associated with strong selective pressure:
A Map of Recent Positive Selection in the Human Genome
Benjamin F. Voight1, Sridhar Kudaravalli1, Xiaoquan Wen1, Jonathan K. Pritchard1*
1 Department of Human Genetics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Voight BF, Kudaravalli S, Wen X, Pritchard JK (2006) A Map of Recent Positive Selection in the Human Genome. PLoS Biol 4(3): e72 DOI:
The authors obtained SNP (single-nucleotide polymorphism) maps of the genes of three distinct populations from Africa, AsiTha, and Europe. They found evidence of strong genetic selection in all three populations. Most of the changes were isolated to one of the three populations. Further analysis revealed that the genes that showed the greatest selective pressure include those that regulate fertility (sperm proteins that affect motility), skin pigmentation (in Europeans), skeletal development, hair distribution and patterning, alcohol tolerance, sugar (mannose, sucrose, and lactose) metabolism, fat oxidation and , genes relating to neurological conditions (Alzheimer's susceptibility, serotonin transporter, GABA receptor, and dystrophin-binding).
The rate of change of these genes is much greater than the rest of the genes and localized to only one of the populations. Analysis of the other associated genes suggested that these occurred relatively recently within 6000 years in many cases.
Wise.