학술논문
Direct evidence for positive selection of skin, hair, and eye pigmentation in Europeans during the last 5,000 y.
Document Type
Article
Author
Source
Subject
*HUMAN hair color
*HUMAN skin color
*GENE frequency
*FOSSIL DNA
*NATURAL selection
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Language
ISSN
0027-8424
Abstract
Pigmentation is a polygenic trait encompassing some of the most visible phenotypic variation observed in humans. Here we present direct estimates of selection acting on functional alleles in three key genes known to be involved in human pigmentation pathways—HERC2, SLC45A2, and TYR—using allele frequency estimates fromEneolithic, Bronze Age, and modern Eastern European samples and forward simulations. Neutrality was overwhelmingly rejected for all alleles studied, with point estimates of selection ranging from around 2-10% per generation. Our results provide direct evidence that strong selection favoring lighter skin, hair, and eye pigmentation has been operating in European populations over the last 5,000 y. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]