Inferences of African evolutionary history from genomic data. (December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Beltrame, Marcia Holsbach; Rubel, Meagan A; Tishkoff, Sarah A
• Is Part Of: Current opinion in genetics & development. Volume 41(2016)
• Page Start: 159
• Page End: 166
• Publication Date: 2016-12
• Subjects: Genetics -- Periodicals; Developmental biology -- Periodicals; Developmental genetics -- Periodicals; 576.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2016.10.002
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-437X

Abstract

Abstract : Africa is the origin of anatomically modern humans and a continent of linguistic, cultural, environmental, phenotypic, and genetic diversity. However, African populations remain underrepresented in genetic studies, which have largely focused on individuals with European and Asian ancestry. The expansion of high-throughput 'omic' technologies to interrogate multiple tissue types across many biomolecules — DNA, proteins, epigenetic modifications, metabolites, and others — has heralded a new era of investigation into African history. In this review, we summarize how some of these recent advances have been applied to contemporary sub-Saharan African populations to inform studies on human origins and adaptation.