Contribution of infectious diseases to the selection of ADH1B and ALDH2 gene variants in Asian populations.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The gene variants ADH1B*2 (Arg48His, rs1229984) and ALDH2*2 (Glu504Lys, rs671) are common in East Asian populations but rare in other populations. We propose that selective pressures from pathogen exposure and dietary changes during the neolithic transition favored these variants. Thus, their current association with differences in alcohol sensitivity likely results from phenotypic plasticity rather than direct natural selection.

Methods

Samples sourced from the Allele Frequency Database (ALFRED) were utilized to compute the average frequency of ADH1B*2 and ALDH2*2 across 88 and 61 countries, respectively. Following computation of the average national allele frequencies, we tested the significance of their correlations with ecological variables. Subsequently, we s

SUBMITTER: Deiana G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11073917 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature