[Next-Generation Sequencing Book]
  • [Photo] J.W. Bizzaro • March 8, 2006
    The following synopsis describes some results published in PLoS Biology from the International HapMap Project:

    ``Within the past 100,000 years, Homo sapiens left Africa in search of new opportunities, likely crossing paths with H. erectus in Asia and H. neanderthalensis in Europe. These early pioneers encountered unfamiliar climates, habitats, and food sources (not to mention alien human species). Then, after adjusting to a major climate change following the last ice age, they underwent a dramatic lifestyle switch, from hunting and gathering to agricultureâ??a change that brought crowded living conditions and new infections. All these radical changes likely precipitated significant genetic adaptations, with selection favoring genotypes most suited to the novel conditions. Indeed, recent studies have found evidence of strong selection on new gene variants reflecting adaptations to disease (conferring resistance to malaria) and dietary changes (lactose tolerance).

    ``In a new study, Benjamin Voight, Sridhar Kudaravalli, Jonathan Pritchard, and their colleagues take a global approach to search for such signals across the genome and characterize the types of gene variants, or alleles, targeted by selection. Analyzing variants called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in three populationsâ??one sampled from Africa; one, a combined sample of Japanese and Chinese individuals from Asia; and one from Europeâ??they found widespread signals of recent positive selection in all three populations. These signals highlight the types of biological processes that have been targeted by selection during the evolution of modern humans.''

    Full synopsis:
    http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0040094

    Full research publication (open-access):
    http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0040072

Discussion forums: PLoS Biology: Clues to our past: Mining the human genome for signs of recent selection

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