Demographic and selection histories of populations across the Sahel/Savannah belt

0563470 - ARÚ 2023 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Fortes-Lima, C. - Tříska, Petr - Čížková, Martina - Podgorná, Eliška - Diallo, Mame Yoro - Schlebusch, C. M. - Černý, Viktor
Demographic and selection histories of populations across the Sahel/Savannah belt.
Molecular Biology and Evolution. Roč. 39, č. 10 (2022), č. článku msac209. ISSN 0737-4038. E-ISSN 1537-1719
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA19-09352S
Institutional support: RVO:67985912
Keywords : Africa * population structure * admixture * selection * pastoralists * camel herders * CNR1 gene
OECD category: Archaeology
Impact factor: 10.7, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access
https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/39/10/msac209/6731090

The study shows very complex patterns of genetic diversity between the populations from the Sahel/Savannah belt. The new findings improve our current knowledge of population structure, migration, admixture, and also adaptation of different human populations and shed new light on how selection may have influenced human adaptation to diseases, cultural factors, and environmental changes in Africa. The study also investigated genomic regions that were candidates for selection. For instance, in a population from Senegal (the Bedik) involved genes are associated with several rare blood disorders. Other Western African populations showed candidate regions of selection that were associated with malaria genes, lactase persistence, and immune response. In particular, a specific signal of exceptionally strong selection was detected in Eastern Sahel (the Rashaayda Arab) and this region involves the CNR1 gene, which was previously associated with substance dependence and responses to chronic stress. These findings are discussed in relation to archaeological and historical evidence regarding migrations and demographic changes in this part of Africa.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0335453


Research data: ArrayExpress