Polygenic adaptation and convergent evolution on growth and cardiac genetic pathways in African and Asian rainforest hunter-gatherers.

ABSTRACT: Different human populations facing similar environmental challenges have sometimes evolved convergent biological adaptations, for example, hypoxia resistance at high altitudes and depigmented skin in northern latitudes on separate continents. The "pygmy" phenotype (small adult body size), characteristic of hunter-gatherer populations inhabiting both African and Asian tropical rainforests, is often highlighted as another case of convergent adaptation in humans. However, the degree to which phenotypic convergence in this polygenic trait is due to convergent versus population-specific genetic changes is unknown. To address this question, we analyzed high-coverage sequence data from the protein-coding portion of the genomes of two pairs of populations: Batwa rainforest hunter-gatherers and nei

SUBMITTER: Bergey CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6275523 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature