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Ambient Temperature is A Strong Selective Factor Influencing Human Development and Immunity.
Lindan Ji1, Dongdong Wu2, Haibing Xie2
1State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Yunnan Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China; Department of Biochemistry, Medical School of Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China.
Genomics, Proteomics & Bioinformatics
|August 22, 2020
Summary
Climatic ambient temperature (CAT) significantly drove human genetic adaptation in development and immunity, more than ultraviolet radiation or sunlight duration. This study analyzed genome-wide data, identifying key adaptive genes and supporting non-neutral evolution for common diseases.
Area of Science:
- Human evolutionary genetics
- Population genetics
- Human adaptation
Background:
- Solar energy influences life and human evolution through attributes like climatic ambient temperature (CAT), ultraviolet radiation (UVR), and sunlight duration (SD).
- Geographical variations in these attributes may lead to diverse human adaptation traits.
- The specific adaptive roles of solar energy attributes during human evolution remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the genome-wide human adaptation to CAT, UVR, and SD.
- To identify specific genetic loci and genes associated with adaptation to solar energy attributes.
- To explore the selective pressures and population-specific patterns of human genetic adaptation.
Main Methods:
- Genome-wide association study using the Human Genome Diversity Project-Centre Etude Polymorphism Humain (HGDP-CEPH) panel.
- Analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with CAT, UVR, and SD.
- Replication analysis in an independent Chinese population.
- Gene ontology and genome-wide association study (GWAS) enrichment analyses.
Main Results:
- Climatic ambient temperature (CAT) emerged as the primary driver of human genetic adaptation, with a significant number of adaptive loci identified.
- Six genome-wide significant SNPs for CAT adaptation were found, with five replicated in a Chinese population.
- CAT adaptation genes are predominantly involved in development and immunity, and significantly enriched in loci related to body mass index, metabolic syndrome, and cancer.
- Distinct selection patterns were observed: balancing selection in Euro-Asians and positive/purifying selection in Africans.
Conclusions:
- Climatic ambient temperature (CAT) is the most crucial attribute of solar energy driving human genetic adaptation in development and immunity across global populations.
- The findings support the hypothesis that human evolution is non-neutral, influencing the origin of disease-predisposition alleles.
- Genetic adaptations to environmental factors like temperature play a significant role in human diversity and health outcomes.
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