Genetic adaptation of the human circadian clock to day-length latitudinal variations and relevance for affective disorders.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The temporal coordination of biological processes into daily cycles is a common feature of most living organisms. In humans, disruption of circadian rhythms is commonly observed in psychiatric diseases,including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and autism. Light therapy is the most effective treatment for seasonal affective disorder and circadian-related treatments sustain antidepressant response in bipolar disorder patients. Day/night cycles represent a major circadian synchronizing signal and vary widely with latitude.

Results

We apply a geographically explicit model to show that out-of-Africa migration, which led humans to occupy a wide latitudinal area, affected the evolutionary history of circadian regulatory genes. The SNPs we identify using this

SUBMITTER: Forni D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4237747 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature