Evidence for recent, population-specific evolution of the human mutation rate.

ABSTRACT: As humans dispersed out of Africa they adapted to new environmental challenges, including changes in exposure to mutagenic solar radiation. Humans in temperate latitudes have acquired light skin that is relatively transparent to UV light, and some evidence suggests that their DNA damage response pathways have also experienced local adaptation. This raises the possibility that different populations have experienced different selective pressures affecting genome integrity. Here, I present evidence that the rate of a particular mutation type has recently increased in the European population, rising in frequency by 50% during the 40,000-80,000 y since Europeans began diverging from Asians. A comparison of SNPs private to Africa, Asia, and Europe in the 1000 Genomes data reveals that private Eu

SUBMITTER: Harris K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4371947 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature