Genetic diversity of lactase persistence in East African populations.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The expression of lactase which digests lactose from milk in humans is generally lost after weaning, but selected mutations influencing the promoter of the lactase gene have spread into the human populations. This is considered a classical example of gene-culture co-evolution, and several studies suggested that the lactase gene has been under strong directional evolutionary selective pressure in the past 5000 to 10,000 years.

Results

In the present study we investigated the distribution of three gene variants leading to lactase persistence in 12 different East African populations as well as one European population. Our results show that with the exception of Copts and Nilotic populations who are fully lactose non-persistent, the majority of populations of East Afr

SUBMITTER: Hassan HY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4700599 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature