Shorter telomere length in Europeans than in Africans due to polygenetic adaptation.
Hum Mol Genet
; 25(11): 2324-2330, 2016 06 01.
Article
de En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-26936823
ABSTRACT
Leukocyte telomere length (LTL), which reflects telomere length in other somatic tissues, is a complex genetic trait. Eleven SNPs have been shown in genome-wide association studies to be associated with LTL at a genome-wide level of significance within cohorts of European ancestry. It has been observed that LTL is longer in African Americans than in Europeans. The underlying reason for this difference is unknown. Here we show that LTL is significantly longer in sub-Saharan Africans than in both Europeans and African Americans. Based on the 11 LTL-associated alleles and genetic data in phase 3 of the 1000 Genomes Project, we show that the shifts in allele frequency within Europe and between Europe and Africa do not fit the pattern expected by neutral genetic drift. Our findings suggest that differences in LTL within Europeans and between Europeans and Africans is influenced by polygenic adaptation and that differences in LTL between Europeans and Africans might explain, in part, ethnic differences in risks for human diseases that have been linked to LTL.
Texte intégral:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Base de données:
MEDLINE
Sujet principal:
Télomère
/
Raccourcissement des télomères
/
Homéostasie des télomères
/
Leucocytes
Limites:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Langue:
En
Journal:
Hum Mol Genet
Sujet du journal:
BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR
/
GENETICA MEDICA
Année:
2016
Type de document:
Article
Pays d'affiliation:
États-Unis d'Amérique